


Princess Marinette: Fairest Ladybug of them All

by Plagg



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and adrien is hopeless, ive never enjoyed writing something so much, just kids doing kid things, marinette is the cutest thing ever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-05-22 10:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 29,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6075294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plagg/pseuds/Plagg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had a tiara and spotted wings; he had a kitty tail and ears. Surely, she'd let him be her knight? She was too precious of a princess to be without one!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Princess and Her Knight

**Author's Note:**

> Because what's cuter than little kids that think they're in love?

Adrien watched the little girl at the desk just opposite of his own. She had a crayon perched in her hand – red, he noted – as she colored furiously. Said little girl had a tiara perched in her dark blue hair, which was done up in twin tails. The girl was absolutely adorable, he thought, and he wished he could talk to her, but every time the five-year-old made the move to get up and go try to say hello, he froze up.

  
He’d never been much on the social side, but for whatever reason he really wanted to meet this girl. So he wrung his hands on the play tail fastened around his waist, breathing in deeply as he got to his feet.

  
“What’re you doing, Adri?” Adrien’s best friend, Nino, asked. Said overalls clad boy was working on his own drawing just like the girl who’d caught Adrien’s attention, but it wasn’t nearly as intriguing.

  
“Just…walkin’,” Adrien responded. Nino shrugged, returning to his work. Adrien spun around and released the breath he’d taken in. Now or never.

  
Slowly, awkwardly, the little boy crept over to the girl. He noticed little red and black-spotted wings on her back, and he giggled at the inaccuracy. Maybe he could strike up a conversation about that? Yeah, that could work!

  
“Hi,” he greeted, shoving the word out of his mouth. He raised his hand quickly to wave, but decided that was silly and dropped immediately after.

  
The girl looked up and smiled brightly, “Hi!” she greeted cheerily.

  
“So, I like your wings,” Adrien said, pointing to them. The girl looked back as well as she could, which made Adrien snicker. “They’s for ladybugs, right?” he asked. She nodded, explaining that she loved ladybugs because they were lucky. “And what about your tiara?” he asked, pointing to that as well.

  
“I’m the princess of the ladybugs!” she explained oh so happily. “What about you, you’ve got a tail ‘nd kitty ears?”

  
“Oh!” Adrien had forgotten about them; he’d refused for days after Halloween to take off his costume, having fallen in love with playing kitty. The ears and tail were black, since he was quite fond of the poor unlucky cats. “I’m the Kitty Knight sent to protect the princess!” he quickly decided, bowing to the girl.

  
She giggled, ecstatic at the idea. “Well, My Knight, do you want to get a juice with me?” she asked, swinging her feet cutely in her plastic chair.

  
“Yes!” he quickly answered, standing up straight. If his tail actually worked, it would have started flicking around in excitement. He held out a hand for the girl, leading her to the fridge in their classroom to grab their refreshments. “Here you are, Princess,” Adrien said, handing her a bottle.

  
“Why, thank you,” she said with a curtsy. “You’re quite the _purr_ -fect knight, aren’t you?”

  
He laughed at that, impressed by the girl’s pun. “Why, thank you, my _purr_ -ty princess!” They played for most of the afternoon, Adrien guiding her around and asking questions about the pretend kingdom they were imagining.

  
“Truly, you can’t run a kingdom properly without lots and lots of chocolate milk,” the girl explained oh so seriously from where they sat under a table covered in a blanket. “It should be our money thingy.”

  
“I couldn’t agree more, Princess!” Adrien said with an enthusiastic nod. “But, don’t forget about cookies, too!” he said, rolling onto his back. This girl was fully of so many revolutionary ideas; she was truly the visionary society has been waiting for.

  
“Ooh, yes! Cookies can be for the more expensive things!” she reasoned, clinking their juices together at the idea.

  
She showed him her drawings, especially the ones of the castles she’d been creating recently. “You’re really good, Princess,” Adrien would comment, amazed at her talent. She disagreed, so he was sure to reinforce his awe over and over.

  
By the end of the day, his princess’s parents showed up to take her to her real castle. She scratched under his chin, and the boy tried to pretend purr, just to make her laugh one more time. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kitty,” she said.

  
“Buh-bye, Princess!” Adrien said, head-butting the girl gently. Her father swiftly picked her up and she waved down at Adrien as she left the room.

  
“So, you made a new friend today, Marinette?” Adrien could hear her father say.

  
“Yeah, and he’s a real kitty!” Marinette explained happily. Adrien smiled; his princess thought he was actually a cat, which made her even cuter! He kicked himself for not telling her his name, but he had hers: _Princess Marinette, fairest ladybug of them all._


	2. Class Nature Walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kindergarten class takes a nature walk. When they stop at a river for lunch, Adrien takes extra care to protect Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, pain for Marinette!

The entire kindergarten class was out for a nature walk one afternoon. Little Adrien and Nino walked with Marinette and her friend Alya, who clicked with Nino quite quickly. The class ended up stopping at a river on the trail, and the kids were allowed to play in the water. Adrien rolled up the legs of his jeans so he could get in the water, his shoes already long forgotten in his day bag. He held out a hand for Marinette once he was in, and the girl started giggling.

  
“The kitty likes water?” she asked, twisting at her hips to make her skirt twirl.

  
“Only for the princess, Mari!” he giggled. She took his hand and tossed her flip flops up to Alya.

  
“Ooh! It’s so cold!” she giggled, shivering slightly. Adrien wrapped his arms around her shoulders, offering to warm her up. The two ended up wading down the river as far as their teacher would allow, hand-in-hand as they examined the various fishes and bugs that were in the water. Marinette was careful with the wings on her back, and Adrien was sure to hold the tail around his waist and not give his father a reason to take it away from him.

  
“Hey, look at this princess!” Adrien called, tugging the girl closer. A catfish swam around his ankles, tickling the bare skin with its whiskers.

  
“Aw!” Marinette cooed, crouching quickly to see it better. However, the sudden movement scared the fish and it swam away before she could get a good look at it. “It swam away…” she pouted. Adrien felt bad, so he tugged her along to see if they could find another one, proclaiming that catfish was just a sissy and that they’d find a super tough one!

  
Eventually through their search, the teacher called on everyone to come back for lunch. Children splashed and swam across the water as quick as they could, pushing and yanking each other along. In the midst of the pushing and yanking, Marinette ended up being pushed down onto the rocks of the riverbed. She scraped her hands and knees and cried out in pain.

  
“Marinette!” Adrien yelled. He stooped down as he tried to help the poor girl to her feet. Their teacher ran over and lifted her, setting the girl in the grass. Adrien pulled himself out of the water and sat beside her, cuddling the girl against him. Her shirt and skirt were soaked, and the wings on her back had gotten wet at the base.

  
Alya and Nino ran over as well, concern written across their faces when they saw the girl. Her hands were covered in blood and her knees were caked in mud, just a little blood seeping out from them. “You OK, Mari?” Alya asked.

  
Marinette nodded, but her hiccups and heaving said otherwise. Adrien hugged her tighter, and girl buried her nose in his shoulder.

  
Their teacher came back over with a first aid kit. She cleaned the cuts and scrapes, not without wails of pain, of course, and placed bandaids over them. “There, all better,” she tried to say calmly, but Marinette’s crying only lessened a little.

  
“It’s all better, princess,” Adrien whispered, rubbing her shoulder. He picked up her hand and kissed the palm over the bandaid, and the action caught Marinette off guard enough to stop her cries. He smiled, “Gotta kiss it better, right? You’ve got a kingdom to run! The ladybugs need you!”

  
Marinette giggled and nodded, “Thank you, Adrien…” she mumbled.

  
“Let’s go get some lunch,” Alya said, standing up and holding down a hand to help Marinette up. The littler girl took the hand and let Alya pull her to her feet. The four children walked together, Alya and Adrien never letting go of Marinette’s hands and Nino never letting go of Alya’s hand. And, for the rest of the walk, Adrien was sure to kick any big bad rocks away from Marinette. He didn’t need her crying again!

 


	3. Evil Witchies Won't Ruin the Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe. Enough said.

“Hey, give it back!” Marinette’s voice rang through the classroom. Adrien’s eyes fell on the girl where she was trying to reach the doll in another girl’s hands. “That’s mine!”

  
“You’re supposed to _share_ ,” the other girl sneered before tossing the doll over to a redhead.

  
They ran off with the doll before Marinette could make another grab for it, and Adrien got to his feet, dashing over to Marinette. “What just happened?” he asked as he stooped down.

  
Marinette looked at him, anger bubbling over on her face, “Stupid Chloe stole my doll…” she grumbled. Adrien looked over at the girls, who were throwing Marinette’s doll up into the air and against the ceiling.

  
“Why is she being so mean?” he asked. Marinette shrugged and hugged herself, twisting at the hips in her annoyance. Adrien made his mind up then that he was going to get the doll back, so he rolled up his sleeve and stomped over before Marinette could stop him. “Hey!” he yelled to get their attentions.

  
Chloe and Sabrina looked up in surprise. “Oooh, Adrien!” Chloe cooed. “Care to play with us?”

  
He shook his head, marching over and snatching the doll out of Sabrina’s hands. “You took this; that’s not nice!” he fussed. Chloe rolled her eyes and waved him off. “This is Princess Marinette’s doll, not yours!”

  
“Psh, _Princess_ Marinette?” Chloe said with a laugh. “You think she’s a _princess_?”

  
Adrien blushed and nodded, standing firm with his phrasing. Marinette was the princess, and he was the knight; that’s how it worked, right?

  
“Since she _is_ one, you shouldn’t be so mean to her!” Adrien said. He turned on his heel and marched back over to Marinette, clutching the doll close to his chest. When he returned, he held the doll out for her.

  
“Thank you, my knight!” she giggled, cuddling her doll close. If she’d lost it, then she would never be able to take toys to school again! Yet another reason her knight was the best!

  
Adrien bowed, giggling at the action. “You don’t have to worry about the evil witchies coming back to steal one of your subjects, I promise!” Marinette smiled and curtsied.

“Should we celebrate with cookies?”

  
“And chocolate milk!”

  
The two children took off to get their snacks and discuss the affairs of their imaginary kingdom. Marinette was deciding on whether or not the navy should be ran by frogs or puppies when they made their way outside for recess. Adrien, for once, ignored her as he searched the open field. He spotted what he was after and ran away.

  
“Kitty?” Marinette called when she noticed he was missing. She spotted him hunched down in the grass and sighed in relief. “Adrien, what are you doing?” she asked loudly. He ran back over with something behind his back, a goofy grin taking over most of his face. “What do you have?”

  
“For you, princess,” Adrien said as he presented a handful of daisies to the girl. Marinette gasped and took the flowers at Adrien’s insistence. “Break the witchies sad spell, right?”

  
Marinette giggled and hugged him. Adrien hugged back, careful to avoid the fake wings on the girl’s back. “You’re the best knight a princess could ever want!”

  
“I try, Mari!”


	4. Valemtine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day with our favorite five-year-olds. Adrien makes the complete realization that he's in love.

“Watch out, Princess!” Adrien yelped, knocking her away from the pretend dragon in their game. He punched at the air and kicked wildly. Eventually he decided the dragon was down enough, so he turned to Marinette and dusted his hands off before yanking up his shorts (which wouldn’t have sagged if wasn’t for the kitty tail still kept around his waist).

  
“My hero!” Marinette giggled. She got to her feet and hugged the boy.

  
“All in a day’s work!” Adrien said nonchalantly, hugging her back. “I only require simple payment in gold and cookies.”

  
“How’s a kiss sound?” Marinette asked before pecking his cheek.

  
Adrien froze and a blush crawled up his face. Marinette giggled and ruffled his hair, skipping off toward Alya and Nino. Adrien would have followed her, but he was frozen in place. Soon a goofy little grin fell over his face and he raised one foot clumsily into the air, dropping onto floor and twirling his way toward his friends.

  
“Are you OK, Adrien?” Nino asked.

  
“Just _purr_ -fect!” Adrien giggled and dropped to the floor beside Marinette. He propped his head up in his hands, staring off into space. Of course, only minutes later the teacher called them all to their seats. She explained that they were going to make Valentine’s Day cards, which excited Adrien.

  
He sat on his feet and hunched over the pink heart-shaped card with a green crayon. He doodled a cat with the green, and then added a ladybug on its nose with a red crayon. Just for added accuracy, he placed a yellow crown on the ladybug. On the other half of the card he tried his hand at cursive and wrote out ‘I loVe yoU, Prinses MAri!’

  
He smiled at his work, folding the card shut and adding a pawprint to the front, just to make sure Marinette knew who it was from. Adrien looked over at her, smiling brightly. That smiled fell back into a goofy grin again, and he leaned his cheek against his hand to stare easier. If his tail worked, it would be flicking joyously.

  
Once Marinette was done with her own card, she looked toward Adrien, who was watching her. She blushed and waved, which seemed to signal to him to come over. Which, he obviously did. He _dashed_ over, card behind his back.

  
“Hiya, Princess,” he greeted with an awkward wave.

  
“Hey, kitty,” she said, holding up her card. “Happy Valemtine’s Day!”

  
Adrien held his card out for her, and they trade away. The one Marinette had made for him was lined with a doily on the front and had his name written in much prettier handwriting than his own. The inside was similar to the one he made, having a kitty and ladybug, but there was no crown on the ladybug. The cat was more detailed than his, and actually looked a cat instead a blob with ears and a tail. How much better Marinette was at drawing made him blush, if only slightly.

  
“Aw, Adrien!” Marinette squealed after she read her own card. She hopped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s so cute!” Then, she once again kissed his cheek. And you better believe he rode that high for the rest of the day. Adrien stuck by Marinette’s side, a goofy smile permanently stuck on his lips as he looked at the girl. She was so pretty.

  
He would have possibly never stopped staring at her and holding her hand if it hadn’t been for the Gorilla showing up to take him home.

  
“Ah, what’s that smile for, Adrien?” the man asked as he carried Adrien out to the car.

  
He sat the boy in his carseat and buckled him in, laughing to himself at the grin splayed on the boy's face. Adrien took his tail in his hands and strangled it, kicking his legs into the air as he breathed out dramatically, “I’m in _love_!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good lord I write Adrien so dorky.


	5. Knight vs. Superhero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a battle between the knight and the superhero for the lady's fair hand lands neither boy with her heart.

Marinette sat on the floor stacking legos into a castle – one of her own design since the one on the box wasn’t cool enough. Her fluffy pink skirt flared out from her crossed legs and covered her knee-length mismatched striped socks. Her favorite silver crown was perched on her head, covering the ballerina bun her hair was in. The cute little ladybug wings on her back were over the dark denim jacket she loved oh so much.

  
She was too cute, with her tongue poking out as she worked and one eye squinted shut.

  
Nathanaël sat in his plastic chair and watched the girl. He wrung his hands on his black t-shirt, giggling at the cute little girl. In front of him was a drawing, his attempt at actually drawing her. He knew he wasn’t the best artist, but he’d worked so hard on his drawing and he wanted to show it to Marinette really badly. Hopefully she’d like it!

  
Swallowing his nervousness, Nathanaël got to his feet and clutched the paper in his hands. Placing one hesitant foot in front of the other, he slowly crept his way over to Marinette. She looked up and smiled when he was close enough, and he thought about running away.

  
“Hi, Nathy!”

  
But it was too late for that.

  
“H-hi, Marinette…” he greeted, ducking his head away. He held out the drawing and presented it to the girl, “I, um, I made this for you…” he mumbled and waved the paper.  
Marinette took it and gasped. He’d drawn her! It looked so pretty; he’d even gotten the eyes right! She hated drawing eyes, usually just opting for bean-eyes, but Nathanaël had drawn real eyes! He was so talented! “This is so cool, Nathy!” she giggled and got to her feet, smoothing out her skirt before she hugged him.

  
“I’m glad you like it…” he said and hugged her back. “You’re really cute, y’know.”

  
Marinette laughed, “Thank you! You’re cute, too,” she said, twirling in place.

  
“Princess!” Adrien’s voice suddenly came through. Both kids looked over to see him running over, having just been dropped off. “G’morning!”

  
“Hey, kitty,” Marinette greeted and hugged Adrien. The familiar action made Nathanaël’s heart drop for a moment, but he was not discouraged. He just had to try a little harder.

  
“Marinette, do you wanna play with me?” he asked before Adrien could start in on their “kingdom” questions. “We can play superheroes, maybe!”

  
“Ooh, sounds fun!” Marinette giggled. “I’m Ladybug!”

  
“And I’m Super Nathan!”

  
Marinette snatched his hand up and pulled him along, laughing as they jumped over plastic tables. Adrien stamped a foot and let out a whine. Nathanaël had just stolen his princess! Not fair! He stomped over to Nino, plopping down beside the boy and glaring at the pair.

  
“What’s wrong, Adri?” Nino asked.

  
“That dummy took Mari from me…” Adrien grumbled.

~~*~~  
At lunch time, Adrien took off like a bullet to find his place beside Marinette. Nathanaël hadn’t left her side for most of the morning, but he was in the bathroom at that moment. He slid into his seat, wincing at the burn he could feel forming under his mesh shorts.

  
“Hello, my princess,” he greeted before opening his lunch box.

  
“Hi, kitty,” she said and laid her head on his shoulder. “You should play super hero with us later!” she giggled, “You could be Chat Noir!”

  
He laughed at the idea, “Maybe later; we have a kingdom run, remember?”

  
“Oh, yes!” Marinette clapped her hands together, “We can’t forget to add strawberries to the bank for spring! Those are like _gold_!” she snickered. Adrien smiled, glad to see his ladybug was back. “Oh, and look what I learned to do!” Marinette exclaimed as she pulled a yoyo out of her jacket pocket. She slipped the knot over her finger and tossed the yoyo down, bringing it back up to her hand successfully.

  
“How’d you learn that?” Adrien asked in amazement.

  
“Nathy taught me!”

  
And there goes the amazement. _Nathy_. The name just stung Adrien’s heart, and he couldn’t help losing his smile. Dumb tomato head, he needed a haircut!

  
“Marinette!” Nathanaël called, slipping down to Marinette’s other side. She smiled brightly and gave him another hug, which Adrien growled at. Nathanaël looked over the girl’s shoulder, snickering at Adrien’s scowl.

  
“Oh!” Marinette suddenly exclaimed. She dug into her lunchbox and pulled out a pastry. “My daddy made these this morning! It’s a tart, and it’s really yummy!” she explained. She hopped to her feet and ran off to their teacher with the treat in hand.

  
While she was gone, Adrien and Nathanaël locked eyes. “Why are you trying to steal my princess?” Adrien hissed, glancing in her direction.

  
“I can’t help it she likes me better!”

  
“No she doesn’t!”

  
“Ok, I had Teacher help me cut it!” Marinette squealed and plopped down in her seat. She placed a third of the treat in front of either boy, “Enjoy!”

  
“Mm! _Claw_ -some, Princess!” Adrien exclaimed.

  
“This is great, Marinette!”

  
Both boys were lucky Marinette couldn’t see their glares or the sparks between them, or else there would surely be a lecture. And then no more tarts.

~~*~~  
Adrien dangled upside-down on the monkey bars, his arms crossed as he glared at Marinette and Nathanaël – oh, sorry, Ladybug and Super Nathan – by the swingset. Marinette was sat in a swing as Nath pushed her higher and higher. She was laughing and looked way too happy to be with _him_.

  
And then she jumped.

  
“Marinette!” Adrien yelped, flopping off the monkey bars to run after her. He dove and caught her just before she hit the ground. “Careful!”

  
She just laughed, “It’s OK, my knight! I knew what I was doing!”

  
Somehow he didn’t believe her. “I don’t want my love being hurt, y’know!” he fussed.

  
“Oh, stop!” she giggled and kissed his cheek before running back over to Nathanaël. This time, Adrien wasn’t as mad that she went back to him because he was the one who’d gotten a kiss.

  
Until she kissed Nathanaël’s cheek, too. _Poopy_!

~~*~~  
Marinette’s parents came to pick her up before Nathanaël’s own mommy. So, he ran over to her and hugged her before her dad could take her away. “See you tomorrow, Mari?”  
She nodded and kissed his cheek again, which nearly landed him on the floor. But, he composed himself enough to speak, “I love you!”

  
She blinked, slightly unsure of what to say. Then, she just giggled, “Thank you, Nathy! You’re cute!”

  
And then she was gone. Nathanaël’s heart felt crushed; she hadn’t returned his feelings! Adrien slunk over and put an arm around the redhead’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, she does that to me, too…” he mumbled. Nath nodded, shoulders hunched as he let Adrien lead him over to a mat to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Nath. Poor Adrien. Poor all of you reading this. I'm sorry.


	6. Thunder Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naptime turns terrifying for Adrien when a thunder storm stirs up. Luckily, Princess Marinette is there to make him feel better!

It had been raining all day. The dark dreary day seemed to have quite the effect on the entire class, seeing as how most of them just wanted to nap the day away. So, by the time actual naptime came, it was a blessing to all the children.

Adrien set his mat between Marinette's and Nino's. Alya laid on Marinette's other side, and both girls giggled and curled up together. Adrien thought it was silly, but he'd learned not to question girls; they were just generally silly. Not that he didn't want to cuddle with Marinette, that would have been wonderful.

Then, ten minutes into naptime, a flash of lightning lit up the classroom. A rumble of thunder shook the room, leaving children whining. And it happened again. And again.

"Geez, it's so loud…" Marinette complained, clamping her hands over her ears. Alya copied and nodded, squeezing her eyes shut to block the bright lights. The two separated from their cuddling so they could control the noise. Marinette dug her toes into her mat, rather upset at all the noise.

Adrien whimpered at each bolt of lightning, not enjoying it in the slightest. Thunderstorms were his least favorite things! He peeked out at the girls beside him to see them complaining rather than fearing the storm. Adrien glanced at his other side, utterly amazed that Nino was _asleep_. _How_.

The loudest crack of thunder yet sounded, and Adrien could feel himself start to cry, a wail escaping his lips. Marinette looked at the boy in concern, furrowing her brow at his position. He was curled in on himself, hands clutching his ears and face buried between his knees. The little girl couldn't help but feel bad for him, so she scooted closer and wrapped an arm around him.

"It's OK, kitty…" she whispered. Adrien unfurled slowly, resting his head against Marinette's chest. He wrapped his arms around her middle and tucked his feet against her knees. "The bad storm's just bein' mean…it can't hurt us…" Marinette reassured.

Marinette buried her hands in Adrien's blond hair, tugging and twisting it between her fingers. She played with his bangs, flipping them over to the other side of his face and braiding them.

"Mari, what are you doing?" Adrien asked.

"Just petting my kitty," she giggled, kissing his forehead like her mommy did when she was upset. Adrien smiled and leaned back to look at her, sticking out his tongue.

"Icky," he said, face scrunched. Marinette giggled and pulled his hair, neither realizing the storm had passed. They didn't move away from each other until snacktime, instead choosing to cuddle together quietly.


	7. Kissing in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is spending the day with Marinette, unfortunately it started raining. Marinette is thrilled; she loves the rain! Adrien on the other hand...not so much. Maybe there is good in the rain, though.

_Splash!_ Marinette jumped into a huge puddle, sending water scattering everywhere. She giggled and continued to jump around giddily. Rain was so much fun! It gave her a reason to dawn her ladybug raincoat and her cute rainboots with little bees all over them. Her hair frizzed and clung to her face, but she was too happy to care.

Adrien, on the other hand, didn't like rain. He hated it, in fact. Big drops landed on his shoulders from where he stood under an awning, waiting for Marinette's mommy to get out of the store. The girl had run out to the sidewalk to play, and she didn't seem to mind that Adrien wasn't with her. He scowled at the sky, whining when a huge drop landed between his eyes. Stupid sky!

"C'mon, my knight! Jump with me!" Marinette called, holding out a hand. Adrien shook his head fervently and stamped his feet to mean he was staying put. "Aw, kitty!" she pouted, her lip jutting out.

"Nu-uh, Princess!" Adrien shouted. "You come here, 'stead of getting wet!" Marinette let out a dramatic sigh and stomped over. Adrien smiled triumphantly once his best friend was back by his side, but that quickly disappeared when she decided to shake off the water. "Beh! Why?!"

Marinette giggled, "Now you're all wet, too!"

"Why, Marinette? Why would you do that!" Adrien whined.

"Alright, you two, why don't we go get lunch?" Sabine cooed as she exited the shop. Marinette and Adrien each took one of her hands and let the lady guide them to a restaurant. Once they had food, the three took seats beside a big window. Adrien whined at the sky once again, staring at the gloomy streets in disgust. How could Marinette enjoy this?

Then he saw a couple running across the street. The woman of the pair held her purse above her head as she ran, and the man had ahold of her elbow. They stopped when they had crossed the road, seeming to be laughing. They were absolutely soaked, and Adrien felt bad for them. Then, they did something. Something that really confused him. They kissed.

This strange couple was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, in the pouring rain, kissing.

Marinette leaned over Adrien and squealed, "How cute!" Adrien wrinkled his nose. They couldn't be comfy; their clothes were soaking wet and it wasn't exactly _warm_ outside. But, Marinette thought it was cute…why?

After lunch, Sabine told Marinette and Adrien to stand outside and wait for her to pay for the meal. She was getting them hot chocolates, which Adrien was looking forward to. But, there was something else on Adrien's mind. It was still raining, if anything it was raining harder, and Marinette was once again splashing around in the puddles. The little boy bounced on the balls of his feet and launched himself into the drops, yelping through them all until he reached Marinette.

"Oh, you wanna play now, Adrien?" Marinette asked.

Adrien shook his head and mustered his courage. He leaned down and kissed Marinette on the cheek, which caught the girl by surprise.

There, he'd done what that couple had done! Did that make him just as cute? He looked at Marinette's face, hoping for a yes. She grinned and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek as well. Adrien's eyes widened and his breath caught, heart flipping. She kissed him back! Yes!

"Oh, aren't you two just the cutest little things," Sabine cooed.

"Mamaaaa," Marinette giggled. She took her mother's hand as well as Adrien's and started skipping as they headed toward the bakery. Adrien couldn't smother the grin that he held, and one glance at Marinette had him skipping as well. Yes, he hated the rain with a passion. But…maybe he liked Marinette a bit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sappy, lame, overly fluffy...all things I do best!


	8. Photoshoot Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien has a photoshoot one day when he and Marinette are set to have a playdate. Seeing how sad he is, Marinette tries to make him feel better, which leads to her being in the photos!

Marinette sat on the ground with her doll in her arms as she watched Adrien. The two were spending the afternoon together, but apparently Adrien did modelling. He’d apologized profusely for the sudden change of plans, and promised ‘buckets and buckets of ice cream’ if Marinette stayed and waited. The little girl sighed loudly, watching her best friend shift around uncomfortably on the bench he’d been sat on.

  
He’d been changed into a burgundy hoodie, dark jeans, and they’d taken away his tail and ears (not without some fighting, of course). His sneakers were replaced with shinier, cleaner ones, and his hair had been fixed to accommodate the creases created by constant use of a headband. Honestly, even though he looked very nice and he was smiling brightly, he just didn’t seem very happy.

  
Marinette fidgeted around with her doll, adjusting the tiara perched in her hair as it slipped forward. It was boring to just sit there and watch someone be rearranged and re-posed, but she had agreed to spend the afternoon with Adrien. Her head suddenly popped up at a shout of aggravation.

  
“No, no, no! It’s all wrong!” the photographer shouted, stamping his foot childishly. Adrien looked to be near tears, and it broke Marinette’s heart. So, she got to her feet and clinked her mary-janes together before running over to her friend. The photographer seemed distracted enough, so she hauled herself up beside Adrien, resting her head against his shoulder.

  
“I’m sorry this is so dumb…” Adrien apologized, resting his cheek in her hair.

  
“It’s not dumb; I don’t mind…” Marinette mumbled. She took his hand and played with the fingers, balling them into a fist or bending them back. “You seem sad,” Marinette whispered.

  
Adrien sucked a heavy breath and released it, nodding all the while. “I don’t like doin’ this, it’s boring and I always get yelled at.”

  
“That’s no fun,” Marinette pouted. Adrien shook his head, then jumped when there was an exclamation in front of them.

  
“She’s PERFECT!” the man practically squealed. “Up, up, darling,” he commanded. Marinette hopped down and looked up at the man, who crouched down and pulled her hair out of its pigtails, smoothing it out and replacing the tiara neatly. “Let’s just take these little wings off…”

  
“No!” Adrien yelped loudly. All eyes went to him and, sheepishly, Adrien blushed. “Mari’s the princess of the ladybugs; she has ta have wings or she’s not a ladybug…” he explained.

  
Marinette nodded, “An’ Adrien is my kitty-cat knight! He needs his tail ‘nd ears.” She crossed her arms over her chest and puffed her cheeks, narrowing her eyes to seem more serious. The photographer looked between the two children, then to Adrien’s driver, who offered nothing more than a nod and slight smile toward Adrien.

  
Sighing, the photographer stood, “Fine, fine! Get the boy’s Halloween costume back here!” A woman ran over and ushered Adrien to his feet. She fastened the tail to his jeans and settled the ears in his hair, arranging the strands to cover the headband. Marinette giggled, jumping in place and clapping her hands together. Adrien grinned widely and plopped down on the bench, pulling his legs up to sit like a cat. “Alright, alright, little girl. Up on the bench!”

  
Marinette jumped up beside Adrien and sat down. Adrien got to his feet as he was commanded, bending down with one foot popped up at the heel. He placed his hands behind his back and smiled down at Marinette. Marinette grinned widely. She linked her ankles together and looked up at Adrien with her eyes half shut through her smile.

  
“Beautiful!” the photographer exclaimed. He grabbed his camera and started snapping pictures, commanding as he captured. Adrien plopped down on his knees and Marinette stuck her hand in his hair to pet him. Then, the boy laid across her lap and they joined hands happily. Finally, Adrien was handed a flower and told to get off the bench. He held it out for Marinette, who was told to look surprised. “Ah, perfect!” the photographer praised after taking the final picture. Marinette hopped off the bench and took Adrien’s hand as the man continued speaking. “You could have a true career as a model, young lady.”

  
Marinette wrinkled her nose and looked to Adrien, shaking her head. “Adrien’s not happy; I doubt I’d be happy, too,” she explained, swinging their joined hands.   
“Well, what do you want to do?”

  
“I wanna go play on the swings!” Marinette giggled. “C’mon, Kitty!” She tugged Adrien along, the two of them laughing up a storm. The adults around them shook their heads, but they had to remember these were children. Children make awful employees, but pretty good friends.

  
“They’ll be together for a long time,” the photographer said to the Gorilla, who just nodded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh I actually wrote this one from Marinette's perspective instead of Adrien's!


	9. Crying over Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette make sugar cookies together, with some unexpected results.

“OK, you two, don’t make a big mess!” Sabine laughed. The two children on the counter were busy kneading through the blob of cookie dough spread in flour. Bowls of garnishes sat beside either child, but at the moment their actions were placed on the assorted cookie cutters at their disposal.

  
Adrien didn’t quite know where to start. There were so many options! The ones that caught his eye were, of course, the kitty head, a butterfly, and several different flower ones. Marinette had gone straight for the other bugs, which did include a ladybug cookie cutter. There was also a dragonfly, a regular fly, and a spider. Between them, they took turns with the car one and the puppy one.

  
Eventually, they had three cookie sheets filled with ready-to-bake sugar cookies. Sabine slid the sheets into the oven and helped both kids down from the counter. “Oh, look at you two!” she snickered, “You’re covered in flour!”

  
Adrien and Marinette looked at each other and laughed. They washed, knowing that changing would be a lost cause because they still had to decorate their cookies. While they waited, Marinette led Adrien up to the living room so they could play video games.

  
“I have this one called Mecha Strike 3,” Marinette explained. Adrien thought the game looked really cool, so they set it up to play. Adrien chose the kitty robot, and Marinette chose the ladybug one. How appropriate.

  
Marinette utterly _destroyed_ him at the game. “How did you do that?!” Adrien shouted at the TV, his control limp in his hands. Marinette laughed as she did a bit of victory dance, proud of her victory. Adrien pouted slightly, upset that the princess had beaten her knight. It wasn’t supposed to go that way!

  
“Alright, you two!” Sabine called up the stairs. “Your cookies are cooled!”

  
They took off down to the kitchen to decorate. After being placed back on the counter, they tugged the piping bags closer. Marinette showed Adrien how to do it, icing a ladybug with the bright red. “Just do it slow and carefully,” she explained.

  
Adrien nodded and placed a kitty in front of him, taking up the black icing. He held the top of the bag like Marinette showed him, and used his other hand to guide the icing onto his cookie.

  
However, he squirted a big blob out all at once. The icing splattered all over his cookie, and even tainted several ones close to him. It got on his leg, as well, and his socks. A big spot on the middle of the cookie was absent of icing, but all around it a ring of thick black surrounded the bare spot. Adrien felt his face heat up with the accident, worsening when Marinette let out a little “Oh, no…”

  
Seeing how upset he was, Marinette put down her own blue icing and scooted closer to help him. She wiped some of the black off his kitty cookie and then guided his hand on the bag. “You have to be _gentle_ with it, Adrien.”

  
After she helped him, the cookie didn’t look so bad. Adrien felt much better with his cookie now fixed, and was encouraged to make another. So, he snatched a butterfly and the purple icing.

  
This time, he moved slower with squeezing the bag so it wouldn’t go everywhere again. But, even with his extra patience, it still came out in a huge blob. Adrien let out a frustrated whine, tossing his head back. How could he be so bad at this?!

  
Marinette looked back over and smiled softly, once again scooting back over to help her friend. This was his first time icing cookies, so she didn’t expect him to be good at it. She’d only made cookies a handful of times before, so even she wasn’t very good at decorating them yet.

  
After Marinette helped him again, Adrien was more determined than ever to make his next cookie look the absolute _best_ out of all the cookies they were making. He dragged a car cookie closer and held up the vibrant green in a tight grip. Adrien dragged his hand down the bag to squeeze out the icing, ever so careful to make sure he wasn’t squeezing it too fast or too high on the bag.

  
It started to come out right! Adrien made a nice outline all around the cookie, just as Marinette had shown him to do. It didn’t look horrible! Silently cheering at his own victory, Adrien pressed on. He repositioned the bag in his tiny hands to accommodate the lessened frosting. A smile graced his face as he started to squeeze out more icing…

  
…only for a large blob to squirt out through an air bubble.

  
Marinette looked up in surprise when she heard the popping noise. When she saw Adrien’s face, her heart dropped. The boy’s head was hung, and his piping bag laid in his lap, strangled practically to death. Sniffles escaped him, and they just added pings to the girl’s heart.

  
Adrien’s eyes burned with tears, and he was sure they were bloodshot. His face burned in frustration and embarrassment, and he was just so _mad_ that he couldn’t even frost one cookie all by himself! Soon, he started to sniffle and his throat began to tighten.

  
A tear dripped onto the plastic bag, and a gasp forced its way past Adrien’s lips. He gripped the folds of his jeans and let another sob out. Soon, the little boy was a puddle of angry tears.

  
Marinette didn’t know what to do at first. Her knight, her best friend, was crying. He was upset, and there wasn’t much she could do to fix it. So, she got to her knees and scooted around the pile of decorated cookies to sit beside him. Marinette tugged Adrien’s shirt to pull him closer, and the action seemed to make him cry harder. “It’s OK, Kitty,” Marinette whispered. Adrien cried and clung to Marinette, burying his face in the girl’s shoulder.

  
“I-I can’t do anything right!” Adrien wailed. He sputtered and sobbed and dug his nails into the fabric of Marinette’s shirt.

  
“Poo!” Marinette fussed. “Just ‘cause you’re not good at cookies don’t mean you’re not good at stuff!” She hugged him tighter as Adrien’s tears started to quiet down. “You’re a smart kid, and you can stay upside-down on the monkey bars the longest, and you’re my knight! You’re the best kitty a ladybug could ever want!”

  
Adrien giggled and pulled away from the hug. “Thanks, Mari…” he mumbled. “But I still can’t do cookies good…”

  
The girl giggled and shook her head, “They’ll all still taste the same, don’t worry!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally wrote this just because I wanted to make Adrien cry. Does that make me a bad person?


	10. Flinch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Adrien falls sick at school, and Marinette helps him feel better.

Marinette sat in her little yellow plastic chair, just watching her best friend across the classroom. He was sat beside Nino, the both of them playing with blocks. Marinette was with Alya, and the girl was babbling on about some cartoon she was watching. It seemed like something was off about Adrien, but Marinette couldn’t quite place what.

  
The blond was sitting cross-legged, just like usual. His bangs were still held in a sparkly hairband Marinette had put there that morning. He was laughing and blowing against the stack of blocks Nino had built up. Everything _seemed_ normal, but something was different, and it was driving Marinette crazy not knowing.

  
“…are you even listening to me, Mari?” Alya deadpanned. She tapped the blue-haired girl’s head to grab her attention, making Marinette jump. “As I was _saying_ …you really needta watch _Sailor Moon_!”

  
“Yeah, yeah, maybe later…” Marinette waved. She returned here attention to Adrien and Nino as Alya rolled her eyes and dropped her head to her paper. What was wrong with Adrien? And why couldn’t Marinette place it?

  
~~*~~  
Adrien was so, so, _so_ tired! He didn’t know why, all he knew was he felt icky. That morning, he’d woken up with a heavy head and stuffy nose. Ever since, he’d been sniffling and coughing his little head off. But, he wanted to go to school, which is what led him to fake his wellness.

  
No one had noticed he felt so bad, and that made him feel very accomplished. But, his head was gradually beginning to hurt again after a few hours of feeling very light, and he could feel himself start to crash.

  
“Adri? You OK?” Nino asked when Adrien started to sway. Adrien nodded weakly and closed his eyes, planting his hands on the carpet to steady the spinning room. The blond could feel his stomach drop suddenly, and he started to heave.

  
Adrien jumped to his feet and ran to the little bathroom in the classroom, slamming the door. Everyone cringed as they heard him hurl, and the teacher ran to help him. “Oh, poor boy…” she cooed. He was crying, upset with himself for not holding it better. Adrien continued to dry heave over the toilet while his teacher tried to comfort him, but all her cold touches did was scare him. “Are you alright, sweetie?”

  
“Uh-uh…” Adrien groaned. His breakfast didn’t look good anymore, and if he wasn’t careful, his snacks would come out as well. He curled up under the sink, practically hiding from his teacher even though she was right there. “Wh-where’s M-Marinette?” he asked quietly.

  
Mme. Bustier turned around and called for the little girl, who, surprised, jumped up and ran over. “Kitty, you OK?” Marinette asked, leaning against the doorway.

  
Adrien looked up at her with glazed over eyes, a whimper escaping him as he stretched his arms out. He gripped at the air as well as he could, coughing into his knees.   
Marinette didn’t even hesitate; she stooped down in front of him and scooped Adrien into a hug, letting him curl against her with his flaming limbs. The boy was burning up and coated in a nice layer of sweat, but that didn’t matter. He was sick and hurting, and Marinette wanted him to feel better.

  
Adrien choked a sob against Marinette’s shoulder. He felt too weak to properly cry, so he had to settled for occasional wails and tight breaths inward. The girl felt cool compared to himself, and it was a small comfort. His head felt like it was at its heaviest, and that if he didn’t keep it leaned on his princess, his head would just roll right off his shoulder.

  
Their teacher at some point decided that she shouldn’t risk Marinette’s health just for the comfort of one student, so she intervened. “Alright, Mari, you might want to return to your desk so I can take Adrien to the nurse…” she said, tapping Marinette’s back.

  
Marinette spun around, “No!” she yelled quietly so as not to hurt Adrien’s head. “I’ll go with you!”

  
That made the teacher’s heart swell, that she cared so much about him she didn’t want to leave his side. She smiled and nodded, though had Marinette stand away so she could lift Adrien up. “I’ll be right back, class, please be good.”

  
Marinette held her free hand as they made their way to the nurse, and Adrien curled up against Mme. Bustier’s neck. He was almost asleep at this point, but he was hanging on to hear Marinette’s mumbled singing of ‘Smelly Wolf’. Then, his kitty ears scooted off his head and over the teacher’s shoulder. He let out a whine, and Marinette looked back.

  
“Oh, no!” she squeaked, letting go of her teacher’s hand to grab the ears. Marinette clutched them close to her chest, not wanting to lose them. Once they made it into the nurse’s office, Mme. Bustier laid Adrien down on the cot. “He’s got sick,” Marinette explained.

  
The nurse looked him over, checking his temperature, his throat, and his ears. “It looks like the poor thing’s getting the flu…” she said, running a hand through his hair. Adrien flinched under the touch, but relaxed when he realized how cool her touch was. “I’ll call your father, and you can get some rest at home, sweetie,” the nurse said to Adrien, though that wasn’t a very reassuring thing.

  
“Come on, Marinette. Let’s let Adrien rest so he can feel better,” Mme. Bustier said, taking Marinette’s hand.

  
“Can I stay with him ‘til his daddy gets here?” Marinette asked. She looked up with big, round blue eyes that pleaded for permission. A moment passed with teacher and nurse, who decided it couldn’t hurt. Marinette crawled up beside Adrien, and he curled up in her lap, begging the girl to run her hands through his hair. The two looked so sweet, and it was only with Marinette that Adrien didn’t flinch with touch.

  
That girl was something special to be able to handle him like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stop letting me hurt Adrien, I keep making him cry.


	11. Evil Witchies Strike Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Sabrina won't let anyone play on the slide, so Marinette and Adrien save the day!

Ah, recess. Truly the greatest time of day. The fresh air of spring was warm, though the breeze made it nearly impossible to go outside without a jacket. Unless you asked Adrien and Nino. The two little boys refused, no matter how much their teacher or friends fussed. Marinette watched the two boys play around on the monkey bars as she swung in her favorite swing. Alya pushed her, having to jump to reach the seat and push.

  
Everything was great, perfect even. Until Chloe happened.

  
“Hey, you have to share!” little Rose fussed from the slide. All children on the playground turned to face the nearly crying girl, only to see Chloe Bourgeois and Sabrina taking up the platform for the twisty slide.

  
“Nu-uh! Get your _own_ slide!” Chloe snickered. “This one is _mine_.”

  
Marinette stopped on the swing, scuffing her pink converse against the mulch. She got to her feet and stomped over to the slide, shoulders locked under her ears and little fists clenched. “Hey!” she yelled, throwing back her head. The girls turned to look at her, Chloe smirking.

  
“Well, well,” she snickered, “If it isn’t _Princess_ _Marinette_. Here to save the day?” she barked with laughter, and Sabrina copied.

  
“You have to share, Chloe! You’re being mean!” Marinette fussed.

  
“Yeah, Chloe, be nice!” Adrien added as he appeared at Marinette’s side suddenly.

  
Chloe giggled and waved her fingers to Adrien, “Ooh, you can play on the slide, Adrieeeeen!”

  
The boy scowled and crossed his arms, “No!” he yelped. Sometimes Chloe got on his every nerve, and that was especially when she tried to purposely upset others. “Let Rose and Juleka play on the slide!”

  
Chloe sneered and tossed her head back, nose to air. “Never!” she huffed.

  
“Please, Chloe! Just once?” Rose tried. Juleka laid a hand on the little girl’s shoulder, ready to help her down the ladder.

  
“No, this is _my_ slide; only me and Sabrina can go down it!”

  
A lightbulb went off in Marinette’s head. She giggled and tugged on Adrien’s hand to get his attention. He looked down at her, and the girl whispered her little plan. “She never said we couldn’t go _up_ it…”

  
Adrien smirked and nodded, pushing Marinette off as they went around the slide. Marinette went first, though she was sure to tug on her skirt before going up. The pair crawled up the slippery slide and caught Chloe by surprise. “Get out of my slide!” she screeched, kicking at their hands.

  
“Ah, but then we’d have to go _down_ it,” Adrien laughed. “ ‘Nd you said no one could do that.”

  
“Fine, get out _this_ way!” Chloe growled. Marinette and Adrien pulled themselves up. “If you wanna play that game…” Chloe fixed herself on the edge of the slide and brushed off her white shorts, “Kim! Catch me!” she yelled toward the boy. He pulled himself away from teeter-totter, leaving Max so he could catch the blonde. “Sabrina, come on!”

  
“But, why?” Sabrina asked.

  
“So these two won’t go back up!” Chloe pointed to Marinette and Adrien, who stood on the ground again with innocent smiles. Sabrina sighed and nodded, preparing to go down right after Chloe. When they went down, Marinette turned quickly to the confused Rose and Juleka.

  
“Hurry, before she gets back!” Marinette rushed them, but the two girls were laughing the whole time. They went down the slide together, and Marinette could hear Chloe’s aggravated yelling.

  
“No, no, no!”

  
Adrien laughed and shook his head, “Evil witchies had their hermit hole invaded…” he whispered to Marinette, making the little girl laugh.

  
“Let’s hope they don’t hex us!” Marinette laughed, tugging on Adrien’s shirt to pull him off toward Nino and Alya. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes. I must do more little Chloe and Sabrina. This is great.


	12. Water Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette didn't think she'd need sunscreen as long as she stayed under water. Boy, was she wrong! Insert slightly-protective Adrien to the rescue!

It was finally Water Day for the kindergarten class! Everyone was excited, since they would get to spend the entire day outside and play in sprinklers, kiddie pools, and water slides! Marinette and Alya were in the bathroom, taking their turn to put on their bathing suits.

Marinette’s suit was a pink tankini that flared around the edges into a bit of a tutu. Her hair was pulled into twintails, and she’d removed her tiara for the time being. She slipped little white flip-flops on, and then brought a pair of lime green star-shaped sunglasses over her eyes.

Alya’s suit was a red one piece covered in white polka dots. Marinette helped her pull her hair back into a ponytail, and she put her glasses in a case so they wouldn’t get broken. Her white sandals were light-ups, so she stomped with every step. Alya held on to Marinette’s tiny shoulders as they left the bathroom so she wouldn’t bump into anything in her sightlessness.

Adrien and Nino were already changed. Adrien’s trunks were black and lime green, while Nino’s were a bright blue with sharks all over them. The boys were scrubbing Adrien down with sunscreen since the boy burned easily.

“Marinette, you need sunscreen?” Nino asked, holding out the bottle.

Marinette wrinkled her nose and shook her head, her twintails bopping her nose. “I’ll be OK!” she said with a giggle. Sunscreen was sticky and nasty and made her skin feel funny. Besides, as long as she stayed under the water, the sun wouldn’t hurt her!

The four friends ran outside soon after. They found their way to the water slide first, and all took their turns flinging themselves down the hill. At the bottom was a mountain of bubbles and soap, so after one trip down they learned to _shut_ _their_ _mouths_. After the slide lost its luster, the four of them washed off the suds in the sprinklers.

Other kids danced around them as they all jumped around the spraying water. Marinette giggled and chased down Kim, who let her catch him. The boy picked her up and ran off with her after she caught him, however, and he dumped her in a pool.

Adrien ran after them, as well as Max, and the two boys burst out laughing as Marinette yanked Kim in after her and stomped out of the pool. “Keep laughin’ and you two’s next!” Marinette shouted. Adrien and Max jumped in surprise, running away from the girl as she took off after them.

Within the next ten minutes, Marinette’s shoulders started hurting. The sun was a lot warmer than she thought it would be, so she thought it would be a good time to go play in the pool. “C’mon, Alya!” she giggled, pulling the other girl to her feet. They took off and jumped into a pool filled with suds, laughing as they went down.

Nino and Adrien came in after them not too soon after, tackling the girls to the water. “Rawr! Sea monster!” Nino growled as he picked up Marinette and body slammed her into the water.

“Ah!” Marinette screeched in delight. “Adrien, help meee!” she giggled.

“Don’t worry, Princess!” Adrien giggled as he tossed himself against Nino. “Die, evil mon’ter!”

Marinette giggled and shook her head, sitting beside Alya. “They’s silly…”

“You said it,” Alya laughed, shaking her head at the boys. She could barely see them, but she knew they were being stupid. She could also see the red on Marinette’s shoulders and face. “Girl, you OK?”

Marinette looked at her and furrowed her brow, instantly unfurrowing it as her tight skin called her mercy. “I’m fine, why’re you asking?”

“You’re all red…”

With that, Adrien and Nino ceased their wrestling. Adrien narrowed his eyes at the girl and huffed. “Marinette, you’re sunburned!” he fussed.

I’m _fine_ ,” Marinette insisted. Then their teacher called for everyone to come back for lunch. They all four grabbed their towels, and for the first time that morning, things were calm. And, Marinette could feel the stings on her body.

Her shoulders, face, the back of her neck, legs, and her elbows were all sunburned and she could _definitely_ _feel_ _it_. But, she couldn’t let Adrien know. He’d fuss over her and then she’d have to deal with nasty sunblock! No!

So, she ate her lunch with her towel around her, shivering to hopefully convince her friends she was too cold to take the towel off. The longer she sat still, the better she started feel, and she thought that she would be able to get away with this! Ha, no need for sunscreen!

That is, until she stood up. “Owwwah!” she cried as soon as she straightened her legs. It felt like her skin had just ripped! She seethed as she stepped forward, avoiding her friend’s gazes. Marinette tried to straighten her arm, but that created the same sensation as her legs. “Ow!”

She waddled backward and nearly fell onto Adrien. “Mari, you OK?” he asked, resting a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“OWWW!” Marinette cried out, jumping away from Adrien’s touch. “D-don’t do that!”

“You’re sunburned really bad!” Adrien fussed. He put his hands to hips and pursed his lips, “You said you would be fine without sunblock, Princess!”

“I _am_ fine!” Marinette insisted.

Just to prove his point, Adrien rested his hand on her shoulder again. She flinched away, nearly in tears. “You’re _not_ fine!” He snatched her hand, careful not to touch the flaming skin, and started dragging the girl toward their teacher. “Mme. Bustier! Mari’s all burned!” he yelled.

The woman looked over and gasped. The little girl was almost completely red! “Marinette, sweetie! Oh, come with me…” the woman started to walk back inside, ushering the girl to follow. Adrien dragged Marinette with him, just to make sure the girl got help. “Alright, little miss,” Mme. Bustier started, picking up Marinette and setting her on a table. “Let’s see if we can help with that little burn.”

“Little?” Adrien repeated with a snort. His teacher shot him a look, though Adrien didn’t back down. “She’s too burned!”

“Hush, Kitty,” Marinette mumbled. Mme. Bustier presented a bottle of aloe, and the little girl wrinkled her nose.

“I know, it smells bad, but you don’t want to be in pain, do you?”

She thought about it. Legitimately weighed out her options. Ultimately, however, she decided that a happy Adrien was better than a grumpy one, so she stuck out her arm at an angle. Adrien seemed pleased, standing there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his lips.

“Alright!” their teacher exclaimed once the girl was lathered in aloe, “Does that feel any better?”

Marinette didn’t want to admit that it did, but she nodded and sighed. “Can I go play, now?” she asked, more to Adrien than to her teacher. Both of them nodded, so she rolled her eyes and hopped off the table. Her arms were still sore, and so were her legs, but it was still much better.

And, for the rest of the day, Adrien shielded the girl from the sun and made her take breaks to put on sunscreen every half hour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pain for Marinette! Yay!
> 
> ...what is wrong with me?


	13. DJWifi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette help Nino with his crush on Alya! Thing is, Alya doesn't want to deal with Nino's crush on her! Will Nino have his heart broken, or will Alya actually like him back?

Nino wrung his hands on the hem of his shirt, glaring at the polar bear on it for being so happy. He took in a breath and let it out shakily as he reached in the fridge and took a juice. He spun around and stomped over to Alya and Marinette quickly.

  
“Hi, Nino!” Marinette greeted. Alya looked up at him and waved, swinging her feet under the table.

  
“Hi, girls…” he said, offering a short wave. “Um!” he began, “Alya, this is for you…” he mumbled. Nino plopped the juice down on the table and turned tail to run away, squealing the whole way.

  
Adrien jumped when his friend tossed himself down on the carpet. Nino curled his legs up and hugged them, which made Adrien snicker. “Somebody’s got a crushy?”

  
“N-no!” Nino insisted. “I just – Alya’s just –“

  
“You like Alya!” Adrien whispered, nudging Nino’s shoulder. He smirked as the boy shook his head violently, then he began singing “Nino and Alya, sittin’ in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

  
“Shush!” Nino squeaked, jumping to slam a hand over Adrien’s mouth. The girls looked over at them, and Adrien just continued laughing at Nino’s mortification.

  
“Why don’t you want Alya to know?” Adrien asked. He wasn’t used to this kind of thing, considering Marinette knew he liked her. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just tell her?”

  
“You’re crazy!” Nino hissed, smacking Adrien’s shoulder. “What if she don’t like me?” Adrien shrugged, which just made Nino fume.

  
“I’ll help you, if ya want,” Adrien offered. He wasn’t about to let Nino get away with saying nothing.

  
“No!”

  
“C’mon,” Adrien got to his feet. “It’s almost recess time, anyway.” Nino groaned, but got up. This wouldn’t be fun.

  
~~*~~  
“What’s with Nino?” Alya asked Marinette. She unscrewed the lid of the juice and sipped on it while Marinette giggled. “What?”

  
“He liiiiikes you, Alya!” Marinette said, glancing over at the boys.

  
“Wh-what!” Alya squeaked. “Uh-uh! Nino don’t like me like that!”

  
It was then that they heard Adrien start to sing and Nino hush him quickly. They looked over at the boys, and Alya’s face heated up. Nino liked her! What did she do from there?  
Their teacher called for recess, and the girls bolted off their seats to go outside. Once outside, Alya decided the best thing to do was to hide from Nino. The last thing she wanted to do was confront him! Marinette stood on top of the picnic table Alya was hidden under, giggling at her friend.

  
“Alya, you can’t stay there forever,” she said.

  
“Yes I can,” Alya mumbled, bringing her knees closer to her face. She fiddled with the strings on her sneakers until one came undone. Great. She didn’t know how to tie them! Why did she pick that day to wear tie-up sneakers?! “Mari…can you tie shoes?”

  
“Noooo,” Marinette smirked. “But Nino can!”

  
Alya groaned and glared up at her best friend, knowing the game she was playing. “No. Mme. Bustier can tie them!” she pulled herself out from under the picnic table and started heading toward their teacher.

  
But, before she could even make it ten steps, Adrien and Nino stepped in front of her. Alya stumbled back and her glasses fell off her face. “Oh! Sorry, Alya!” Adrien said dramatically. He reached down and picked up the frames, dusting them off and sticking them back on Alya’s face. “Your shoe’s untied, y’know…”

  
“Yeah, I know.” Alya crossed her arms and pushed her glasses up. Marinette stepped up to her side and giggled.

  
“Alya can’t tie her shoes, so she was gonna get Mme. Bustier to tie them for her,” Marinette explained.

  
“Oh!” Adrien smirked. “Nino can tie shoes!” He nudged the boy’s shoulder, and he simply nodded. Marinette nudged Alya, who sighed and stuck her foot out. Nino gulped and rested her foot on his knee to tie her shoe.

  
He fumbled slightly, nervously trying to tie the knot. This wasn’t fair! He was dealing with his crush just fine on his own, then here comes Adrien and Marinette to mess things up! Once it was tied, Alya quickly took her foot away and muttered a ‘thanks’ to him.

  
“Hey, we were gonna go swing; you guys should come with us!” Marinette squealed. Adrien nodded and grabbed Nino’s hand to tug the boy after him. Marinette took Alya’s hand and pulled her off to the swings. “Push us!” Marinette giggled as she plopped down.

  
Adrien took to her behind, and Nino went to Alya’s. The boys pushed them for several minutes, until Alya started to get frustrated. Nino was pushing her too high, and it wasn’t very much fun. So, as she was going up, she jumped.

  
“Alya!” Marinette yelped. The girl flopped into mulch, landing on her side.

  
“Owwwwah!” she cried out.

  
The three friends ran over to her, as did their teacher. “Alya, are you alright?” Mme. Bustier asked.

  
“M-my arm hurts…” she cried. The skin was already bruising, and the sight of it made her cry harder. Well, that was quite dumb of her.

  
Nino wrung his hands on his shirt and looked down at her, his concern taking over. He wanted to help, since he was the one pushing her. So, Nino plopped onto the ground beside Alya and held up her arm. He pressed a kiss to the bruise, which seemed to catch her off guard enough to stop her crying. He smiled awkwardly, “Kisses make boo-boos feel better, right?”

  
Alya smiled and wiped her face, nodding. She looked up at her teacher, who seemed slightly confused. Did she take the girl inside, or let Nino handle it? The question was answered for her when Nino helped Alya to her feet and hugged her. She didn’t cry in pain, or even really wince.

  
“Well, if you’re alright, I’ll be with the rest of the teachers, OK?”

  
Alya nodded and took Nino’s hand with her good one, not wanting to exert her hurt arm too much. Once their teacher was gone, Adrien and Marinette nearly exploded at their friends.

  
“Awwww!” Marinette cooed, jumping in place. Adrien started laughing, fussing at Nino for not hurting Alya sooner. Marinette hit him for that, so Adrien apologized.

  
Alya looked at Nino, a grin on her face. Maybe he wasn’t as icky as she thought he was…

  
And Nino? The poor thing was just dying inside. He kissed Alya’s boo-boo! He helped her feel better!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the obligatory DJWifi chapter. Not much on the Adrinette front here, but it's still cute, right?


	14. Mrs. Agreste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Agreste comes home, and Adrien is very excited for his princess to meet his mommy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha suffer

Adrien sat beside Marinette on the floor of his bedroom, the two children stacking up Mega Blocks into a birthday cake. Marinette had insisted they use the green blocks for the bottom, since green meant mint and mint was obviously the best flavor. Adrien had agreed, so long as they put blue in next for blue otter-pops.

  
The two children were just as calm as they could ever be, shoving popsicles in their mouths as they finished their last one. Once they ran out of blocks, they stood to admire their work. It was huge! Taller than Marinette! Not that that was hard…

  
Just as Marinette was about to comment, they heard the front door open. Adrien jumped in excitement and ran out of his room. He knew who that was! The only person who came over in the middle day was his mommy!

  
“Mommyyyyy!” he yelled as he ran, Marinette on his heels.

  
“Oh, my baby boy!” Mrs. Agreste cooed as her son ran up to her. “I’ve missed you so much!” The woman pressed little kisses all over the boy’s face, making him laugh. Marinette looked up at the two and smiled, glad that Adrien got along with one his parents. Eventually the woman noticed the little girl, and smiled down at her. “It seems you have a little friend over, Adrien,” Mrs. Agreste teased as she set the boy on his feet.

  
“This is Ladybug Princess Marinette!” Adrien introduced. He made a big show of gesturing to Marinette, practically dropping to one knee, so Marinette gave a little curtsy. Mrs. Agreste snickered at his enthusiasm, but she thought it was absolutely adorable.

  
“Mari, this is my mommy, Queen of the Butterflies!” Adrien introduced, grabbing the woman’s hand and swinging from it.

  
Marinette giggled, “Wouldn’t that make you the prince, Kitty?”

  
Adrien shook his head, “Not worthy! Gotta protect the queens ‘nd princesses instead!” He explained.

  
Mrs. Agreste giggled and lifted the boy before taking Marinette’s hand. “Well, why don’t we set you two up for lunch?” she said as she led the children to the kitchen. Adrien ate happily, for once actually having good food because his mommy was the best cook ever. “I’ll be upstairs if you two need me, OK?”

  
“OK, mommy!” Adrien said, waving rapidly at the woman as she went up the stairs. He dropped his hand once she was gone, sighing dramatically. “Isn’t my mommy the coolest?”

  
“She’s really nice,” Marinette said with a nod, her feet swinging in her chair.

  
“She is!” Adrien confirmed. “Too bad she doesn’t come home much…”

  
“Why doesn’t she?” Marinette asked.

  
“She’s got work in another country, so she don’t come home much,” Adrien explained. “Too bad ‘cause Dad doesn’t make as good a mommy as she does…” he mumbled, dropping his cheek into his hand.

  
Marinette felt sad, not sure what to do. She never had to deal with not having both parents around at the same time, and she never really thought about what it would be like not have both. Adrien must have it pretty bad, since he only saw his mommy sometimes.

  
He didn’t seem very sad about her not being home very much, but how could he not be? Marinette jumped down from her chair and went to the freezer, pulling out a couple more popsicles. She jumped back up beside Adrien and held out the last blue one for him.

  
Adrien smiled and thanked her, eagerly munching on the frozen otter-pop. “Y’know, the knight’s supposed to make the princess feel better, not the other way ‘round…”  
“Please, the kitty feels sad, and the best way to fix sad kitties is with popsicles!” Marinette said, smacking her own otter-pop against Adrien’s head. “Doesn’t have anything to do with you bein’ a knight.”

  
Adrien smiled and shoved the girl, not quite knowing what to do otherwise. Then, his mother came down the steps. “How about I take you two to the park?” she suggested, “It’s quite a beautiful day!”

  
The two children jumped up in excitement, running out the door. Adrien held back for a moment, waiting for his mother to step out the door. Once she’d locked the door and was walking toward him, he took off running once again.

  
Marinette smiled at that, realizing then that Adrien wasn’t sad because he never saw his mommy. He was just happy she was home. The times she wasn’t there didn’t matter when compared to the times she was there. He didn’t have it that bad, his situation was just a lot different. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Then she just disappears and never comes back.


	15. Constellations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has a lot of freckles and Adrien is awe.

Adrien thought there couldn’t be anything better than having class outside. It was warm and sunny, the grass made for an excellent distraction, and he could find bugs to play with when the grass lost his interest. Also, he could sit beside Marinette.

  
Marinette loved being outside as much as, if not more than, Adrien. She sat beside him with her favorite pink-and-green sundress on, bandaids scattered down her legs. Her ladybug wings blew against her shoulders with the slight breeze, which felt kind of funny. Every few minutes, an actual ladybug would flutter by, so Marinette reached up a hand to catch the critter. Now, halfway through the afternoon lesson, she had a collection of 12 ladybugs crawling on her legs.

  
When Adrien spotted her catching a 13th ladybug, he finally noticed all the others. He giggled and poked at the girl’s freckled legs, “Your subjects are crawling on you, Princess,” he snickered. “That’s not very nice.”

  
“You have to be able to carry the kingdom,” Marinette explained. She placed one of the beetles on her pointer finger and raised it to Adrien’s face, making the boy go cross-eyed. “Have one,” she said with a giggle before placing the little bug on his nose.

  
He laughed and wiggled his nose in greeting to the ladybug. “You’re not as cute as _my_ Ladybug, though,” he said, removing the bug from his nose.

  
“Shush, you’ll hurt her feelings!” Marinette fussed. The ladybug flew out of Adrien’s hand and they both laughed, Marinette muttering a ‘told you so’ to the boy.

  
Adrien shook his head and looked back at the girl, who laid down in the grass. “Won’t you crush them if you lay on them?”

  
“Worthy sacrifices,” Marinette mumbled, placing her hands under her head. She shut her eyes and listened to their teacher as the woman read, barely registering that she was reading off _Alice in Wonderland._

  
Adrien, on the other hand, was too focused on Marinette to pay attention to their teacher. Because of the sunny weather, an abundant splatter of freckles had taken over the little girl’s face. They littered her nose and cheeks and forehead with force, then seemed to go around her chin and upper lip. The dots had no pattern or reason, but they were perfect anyway.

  
The boy turned his head to his supplies pouch. He dug around in the pouch until he found what he was looking for: a brown marker. Then he grabbed Marinette’s pencil case and rummaged through it until he found a small mirror-brush compact. He flipped it open and popped the cap off his marker. Adrien raised the marker to his face and held the mirror out.

  
It wasn’t fair that Marinette got freckles! They just _added_ to her cuteness! Adrien wanted to be cuter, too!

  
So, with that thought, he poked the bridge of his nose with the marker. And he repeated, and repeated, and repeated until his entire face was covered in little dots. Smirking at his reflection, Adrien snapped the compact shut and tossed it back in Marinette’s case. “Mari, look,” he whispered, shaking the girl’s arm.

  
“Mmm,” Marinette whined as she rocked. She squeezed her eyes tighter then opened them wide, staring up at Adrien, whose face was just inches away from hers and…off. Wrinkling her brow, Marinette questioned him, “What did you do to your face?”

  
Adrien giggled and held up his marker. Marinette gasped and shot up, snatching the marker from his hands.

  
“You drew on stars?”

  
Adrien nodded and lifted his knees up, sitting like an owl as Marinette stared at his face. The more she stared with something less than amazement, the more he started to squirm, however. “Is it…not cute?” he asked, dropping to his bottom.

  
“No, no!” Marinette scooted closer, “Just – why? You was already cute!”

  
“I was?” Adrien didn’t sound too sure about that. Freckles were the epitome of cute since Marinette had them, and he _didn’t_ have them so…obviously, he wasn’t cute. Obviously.  
“You don’t need stars on your face to be cute, Kitty,” Marinette fussed. She smacked at the kitty ears on his head to make him laugh.

  
“You call ‘em stars?” Adrien stated, though it sounded more like a question. His hand with the marker twitched as he stared down the girl’s arms. They were covered in freckles as well…

  
He snapped the cap off and placed it on the bottom of the marker, twisting and grabbing Marinette’s arm.

  
“What are you doing?”

  
“Makin’ constellations,” Adrien explained slowly so as not to mess up the big word. He connected the freckles and made little shapes all across the skin. Soon, Marinette was covered in flowers, kitties, puppies, ladybugs, and random shapes that Adrien just thought were cool. She giggled at her arm and held it out to admire the work.

  
“This is so cool…” she whispered.

  
Adrien smiled, watching the girl as she stared in amazement at his artwork. Of course, his art wouldn’t have been possible without what she already had. Freckles – no, stars – definitely looked better on Marinette than they did on Adrien, but he preferred it that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't it strange that characters with freckles only ever have "pretty freckles" across the nose? And Marinette isn't an exception. But! I always exaggerate and add more in my stories.


	16. Proposal in a Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette climb a tree, then something interesting happens.

Marinette stared up a tree, her eyes squinted shut and her lips pursed in annoyance. With hands on her hips, she stared up at Adrien, who sat on the sixth highest branch of the tree. Said little boy smirked down at her, swinging his legs cutely, “Think you can get up here, Princess?” he asked in a teasing tone.

  
They both knew she could, it was just a matter of Marinette figuring out how to get her small body on the first branch, which was just barely out of her reach. She slipped off her pearl-rose colored flats and sat them at the base of the tree before she jumped for the first branch. With her shoes off, she had better grip to climb with, so when she hauled her lower body onto the branch with the rest of herself, she stood easier.

  
Marinette then made her way up two more branches with less difficulty since those branches were closer together. She glared at Adrien and puffed her cheeks, willing away his dumb toothy grin. He was enjoying this too much.

  
“Why don’t you come down lower, Kitty?”

  
Adrien shook his head and giggled, “What would be the fun in that, Mari?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. Marinette huffed and rolled her eyes, twisting the crooked straps of her overalls to better climb.

  
Once she finally made it to Adrien’s side, she could see why he wanted her to come up there. It was so pretty so high up, and they could see across the whole field. Kids played below them unknowingly, and Marinette finally got to see the tops of older kids’ heads, which amused her greatly.

  
Adrien fidgeted beside the girl, hugging the trunk of the tree. He wasn’t the fondest of heights, but this was the quietest place of the whole school. Also, he’d seen romancey-things take place in trees all the time, so this was the ideal spot for his plan! While he still had his wits to him, Adrien fished in his pocket for the one thing he’d made sure to bring to school that morning.

  
He twirled a little ring in his hands, nerves beginning to get him. He could just stick it back in his pocket and pretend nothing had happened! Then, he could just sit there with Marinette and enjoy the pretty afternoon!

  
“What’s that?”

  
Or not.

  
Adrien jumped at the sound of her voice, suddenly fully aware of what was going on. Marinette stared down at his hands, brows furrowed in confusion. He still twirled the plastic ring in his hands, cursing its pink and glittery band for probably catching the sun and attracting Marinette’s attention.

  
“U-um, it’s just a ring,” Adrien tried, shrugging.

  
“It’s really pretty,” Marinette said. She braced her arms against the tree branch and swung her legs together, never taking her eyes off of Adrien. “Why d’you have it?”  
The one question he didn’t want her to ask! “W-well, it’s um,” Adrien took a breath and decided to confess. He’d told Marinette several times that he liked her, but this was physical proof that he loved his princess. “It’s…for you.”

  
That caught her attention. “For me?” Marinette repeated, making sure to point to herself. Adrien nodded and held out the ring, expecting her to take it from him. Instead, she held up her hand with her fingers spread apart. Right, he was supposed to put it on her.

  
With a shaky hand, Adrien slipped the plastic accessory over Marinette’s finger, then took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. Marinette giggled and ruffled his hair, “Silly kitty,” she started.

  
“Y’know, Mari, I love you,” Adrien mumbled, not looking the girl in the eyes. How could he?

  
Marinette smiled and pulled him into a hug, “I love you, too, Adrien!” she said.

  
“No! No, I mean as more than your knight!” Adrien corrected, sure the girl didn’t understand him.

  
“I know,” Marinette said with a smile. She then leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “I still love you, too.” They heard a whistle, so Marinette easily started to slip down the branches of the tree. She grabbed her flats, and as she was putting them back on, Adrien hurriedly ran down and grabbed her hand, dragging the girl behind himself in his hurry. “What are you doing?!” Marinette called as she stumbled behind the boy.

  
“We gotta get married, now!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is gonna kill you guys, because it's the "marriage" chapter. Hehehehehe!


	17. Marriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette have their wedding ceremony!

Adrien wanted to get their wedding done before anyone went home. So, as soon as they entered the classroom, the little boy grabbed Nino by the collar and dragged him to the front of the class. “You’re my best man!” Adrien explained. Marinette giggled and watched him scramble around the class, ordering classmates to sit in certain areas and filling in other spots with stuffed animals and plastic dinosaurs.

  
Alya stood at Marinette’s side laughing. “I’ll be your maid of honor,” she offered. Marinette nodded just as Adrien grabbed her hand.

  
It was at that moment Marinette realized how disheveled they were, and how unfit to be married they were. She still held one of her flats in her hand, the other pressed down by her heel. Her hair, which had been in perfect double-buns at the start of the day, was mostly undone at this point, save for a few strands that insisted on remaining in their places. Her overalls were grass-stained over the pinkness, and the straps were twisted wildly from her previous tree-climbing.

  
Adrien wasn’t in much better shape. His sandals were scuffed and his khaki shorts sagged to reveal _Cars_ boxers unintentionally. His t-shirt was crooked, half exposing his shoulder. Not to mention, the poor boy was out of breath and sweaty from how much he’d been running around. But, despite their appearances, he still wanted to marry quickly.

  
“OK, Mylene!” he giggled, taking Marinette’s hands.

  
Mylene coughed into her fist and held a coloring book up. “We are gathered here today to join these two in holy mattress-money!” the little girl began. “Adrien, do you take Marinette to have and hold, for better or worse, richer or poorer, until death do you part?” She tried to recite the vows as she had heard at other weddings, though it was more difficult to recount than she originally thought.

  
“Uh-huh!” Adrien said enthusiastically, bouncing in his shoes.

  
Marinette snickered, “You’re supposed to say ‘I do’, Adrien.”

  
“Oh! Right!” Adrien laughed, “Yes, I do!”

  
Mylene, satisfied, moved on to Marinette. “Marinette, do you take Adrien to have and hold, for better or worse, richer or poorer, until death do you part?” she asked again, looking to the little girl.

  
“Yep! I do!” Marinette giggled. Adrien sighed in relief, squeezing Marinette’s hands slightly.

  
“Then, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!”

  
Adrien leaned over and kissed Marinette’s cheek, and most of the class erupted in cheers. The other portion gagged in disgust, finding the whole thing yucky.

  
But, then Mylene noticed something. “Are there no rings?” she asked.

  
Adrien’s eyes widened, and he brought the palm of his hand to his forehead. “I forgot!” he groaned. Nino rested a hand on Adrien’s shoulder as the boy whined.

  
“It’s OK!” Marinette reassured, “I have mine, I can get you one later!”

  
Adrien smiled and nodded, taking her hand. “That’ll work, I guess.” It wasn’t the ideal situation, seeing as he was supposed to have provided rings during the ceremony. Whoops.

  
It was at that moment their teacher cleared her voice. “I hate to interrupt, but, Marinette, your mommy and daddy are here to take you home,” she said gently.

  
Marinette broke out into a grin and took off running toward her father, Adrien momentarily forgotten. She let the man scoop her up, hugging his neck.

  
Adrien ran back over, distraught. “Princess, you can’t go home!” he cried. “We got a honeymoon to go on!”

  
“Maybe tomorrow, Kitty.”

  
“But!” Adrien continued to whine, “You’re my wife! We gotta stay together!”

  
Marinette seemed slightly conflicted. On one hand, she could stay at school and be with her knight – her husband – and be happy. On the other hand, she could go home for spaghetti night. Oh, why did she have to have such difficult decisions?!

  
Tom set his daughter on her feet, taking the forgotten shoe from her hand. Marinette pulled Adrien into a hug, and the boy returned it tightly, not wanting to let go. She pulled away from the hug and smiled at Adrien, “I’ll see you tomorrow, promise! But, it’s spaghetti night, and I gotta go home!”

  
With that, she was out the door with her parents. Adrien let out a confused, frustrated, upset groan as he fell to his knees. His wife left him for _spaghetti_!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm taking suggestions now for a play chapter! If there's a specific idea for a play you want these kids to do, please let me know!
> 
> Also, for those of you who may be curious, my tumblr is danielmemehowell. If ya wanna talk to me or pick my brain or anything, that's your best bet for getting me!


	18. Set the Stage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class choose their roles for their end-of-the-year play!

“Alright, class,” Mme. Bustier called, snapping her fingers to attract tiny attentions. All heads swiveled to face her, so she continued before she lost them. “We will be putting on a play for the end of the year!” she explained.

  
A round of cheers exploded from the children, and Chloe hopped to her feet. “ _Obviously_ I’ll be Juliet!” she exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest in slight pride. There were snickers from her classmates, so she turned to glare at them all. “What’s that?!” she practically growled.

  
“Ah, Chloe, sweetie,” Mme. Bustier called. “We are not putting on Romeo and Juliet!”

  
That seemed to surprise the little girl, whose face quickly twisted into one of anger. “Then _what_ play are we doing?!”

  
“We are doing Mulan,” the teacher explained.

  
From where she sat, Marinette perked up dramatically. Adrien looked over to her to see the little girl almost bouncing off of her seat. He went to grab her hand and still the girl, but she jumped onto the seat of her chair before he could.

  
“I wanna be Mulan!” Marinette yelled, tossing her arms in the air wildly. “Me! Me! Me!”

  
Mme. Bustier giggled and nodded, “Alright, Marinette,” she said. “If you think you’re up for it.”

  
Marinette nodded vigorously. “I’ve seen Mulan twenty-kajillion times! She’s my favorite-est princess ever!”

  
That elicited a snort from Chloe, “Elsa’s better, she’s a _queen_.”

  
Marinette glared, dropping to the floor to get in Chloe’s face. “So? Mulan saved _all of China_!”

  
“Well, at least Elsa’s _pretty_.”

  
“Nu- _uh_!”

  
Adrien raised his hand to hopefully interrupt the girl’s fighting, so the teacher called on him. “I’ll be Li Shang?” He figured he could at least be the cool general, maybe that would impress his wife. Mme. Bustier approved, and he sighed in relief.

  
Then, Alya’s hand went up, “I wanna be Mushu!” she cried.

  
Half the class erupted into laughter, proclaiming she couldn’t be Mushu because he was a _boy_ and Alya was a _girl_.

  
“Mushu’s a _dragon_ , who cares what he is!” Alya defended, however, sticking by her choice. “And he’s Mulan’s bestest friend!”

  
“Alya, dear, wouldn’t you rather be someone like…Grandmother Fa?” Mme. Bustier suggested. Alya shook her head, adamant to be Mushu. Finally, the teacher resolved to let her be who she wanted. “Alright then, Alya will be Mushu.”

  
From there, it was decided that Nathanaël, Nino, and Alix would be Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po. Kim was set to be Mulan’s father, and Rose was the mother. Max chose to be Chi-Fu. Juleka chose to be Grandmother Fa, and the other girls picked to be either in the army, or be the wives at the beginning. The other class chose the roles for the ancestors, and filled in the other spots. Ivan reluctantly chose to be Shan Yu, since everyone said he would do so well.

  
Marinette smirked as she glanced at Chloe, who sat simmering in her seat. She was tempted to stick her tongue out at the blonde, but thought better of it. Neither princesses nor warriors, protectors of China, stuck their tongues out at bad witchies.

  
Instead, she turned to Alya and smiled, before something dawned to her. “What about the cricket?!” Marinette shouted, jumping from her seat. She looked on desperately to the teacher, her face pained as she realized the grave error.

  
Mme. Bustier looked up, smiling gently at the girl, “We won’t have a cricket, sweetie,” she tried to explain.

  
“But…!” Marinette looked around desperately, “He’s a lucky one!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought Mulan fit them fairly well, don't you guys think?  
> ...I also think Marinette will do a better job making a man out of them than Adrien will, just saying.


	19. Make a Wish!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kindergarten class practices for their play! Also, Adrien learns that ladybugs grant wishes, too! Was there anything Marinette didn't know?

The kindergarten class had been practicing for nearly three weeks on their play. They made use of the auditorium (their first trip there!) for practices and rehearsals. Marinette was an excellent Mulan, as she said she would be, since she could quote the movie word for word without her script. So while most kids busied themselves learning their lines, Marinette practiced with them as she twirled herself around the stage and danced around with a foam sword in hand.

  
“OK, let’s do I’ll Make a Man out of You from the top!” Mme. Bustier called out. Kids jumped up from where they were stationed, taking their places around the stage. Adrien scooted across the stage in his socks until he was in the center, Marinette to his left. He took a breath and picked up his baton, “LET’S get down to BUSINESS!”

  
They ran through the song, Adrien nearly tripping and falling off the stage when balls of paper were thrown his way. He almost forgot to sing when Marinette made her way up the post, wanting to instead watch the little girl he called his wife. None of them were even close to being in sync, but that was to be expected, though it didn’t seem that way from Marinette.

  
“We have to all do the same thing!” she fussed, stomping her bare foot against the stage.

  
“Marinette, it’s alright, none of you are supposed to be perfect!” Mme. Bustier tried to console the child, but her fussings only seemed to grow.

  
“But it’s not right! We’re the army; it’s gotta be perfect or the Huns’ll kill us!” She seemed to be distraught, as though they would actually be hurt if they couldn’t perform perfectly.

  
“Sweetie, it’ll be alright. We’ll practice more, and it’ll be just fine.”

  
“Noooo!” Marinette cried out. She threw down her baton and stomped off, ladybug wings on her back bouncing and taking away from her serious anger. But, that didn’t mean Adrien didn’t pick up on it. So, he took off after her, disappearing behind the stage curtains to find her sprawled across a carpet square in the band room.

  
“Princess?” he called out, plopping down beside her. Marinette said nothing; instead, she buried her face in her arms and bounced her toes against the floor in her pout. She laid on her belly, so as not to crush her wings, which Adrien understood greatly. “Y’know, you’re a really awesome Mulan,” he tried, hoping to make her happy.

  
“But Mulan doesn’t do everything by herself,” Marinette mumbled. “Everybody’s gotta work together ‘nd be great or we fail ‘nd the Huns are gonna kill us all and Mulan fails.”

  
“Nu-uh!” Adrien insisted. “The heroes always win, and Mulan and China were the good guys, so they win by default!”

  
“Not if the army’s sloppy,” Marinette said with distaste. Adrien let out a whine, frustrated that she wouldn’t listen to him. Why was it she was so good at pep talks, but when he tried all he got was Stubborn Marinette? It wasn’t fair! She should be comforted by him and hug him and tell him that he was a great friend for making her feel better about being the savior of China!

  
“They just need more practice. Not everybody does the moves with the characters when they watch the movie, Princess.”

  
“They should.” OK, now she was being stubborn on purpose!

  
“Well, maybe you should make a man outta ‘em all!” Adrien huffed, crossing his arms. Being Marinette’s husband was very frustrating!

  
“I should!” Marinette shouted, jumping to her feet. “Great idea, Kitty!” she giggled, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.

  
“What are we doing?!” Adrien shouted as he stumbled behind the girl.

  
“We’re defeating the Huns!” Marinette said. “Even without a lucky cricket, we gotta a lucky Ladybug!”

  
By the time the kindergarten class left school that afternoon, they were all exhausted and heaving breaths. Marinette was very strict about their ‘training’ and made sure that everyone knew on what words to do what actions, so now they were more in sync than 5-year-olds should ever be. She was satisfied, and Adrien was just glad to see Marinette happy. If only it hadn’t caused him 6 bruises!

  
He sat outside with her as they waited for her parents, since the children were spending the night together. Marinette giggled suddenly and leaned forward, catching Adrien’s attention. “What’re you doing, Marinette?” he asked, leaning forward to catch a glimpse at her concentration.

  
She presented a ladybug to his face, a huge grin splattered across her face. “Make a wish!” Marinette said.

  
Adrien thought on it for a moment, then decided to wish for the play to go well so that Marinette would be happy. “OK, I did.” He’d never seen this…what was she doing?

  
“Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children are gone!” Marinette whispered to the beetle. It suddenly untucked its wings and lifted off her finger, taking off into the sky. The little girl giggled, “Looks like you get your wish!” she said.

  
“Huh?” Adrien had never heard of wishing on ladybugs. But, if there was one wish he hoped came true, it was the one he’d just made. And, if it was now a guarantee, well who was he to question a ladybug!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's the legit thing you're supposed to say if a ladybug lands on you and you make a wish. If she flies away, then you're wish will come true; if she doesn't, well then you're just shit out of luck.  
> Who knew?


	20. Play Night!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien has interesting play night when his father doesn't show up, but he also gains a new "family" in Marinette's parents.

It was play night finally! The kindergarten class buzzed with excitement and nerves as they prepared, peaking out the curtains to watch the steady stream of people file into the auditorium. Alya helped Marinette with her hair, making sure the long-haired wig that she wore was put on properly. Marinette, in turn, made sure that Alya’s make-up was done well and that her dragon tail was fastened properly.

  
Adrien fiddled the with the fabric belt around his waist, watching out the curtain for his father. He’d told the man all about the play, and told him that he should come. Adrien knew that his mother wouldn’t be able to come, since she was in Italy for the month. All he wanted was to see the tell-tale red pants walk through the door!

  
Instead, he eventually spotted the Gorilla and Nathalie walk in, a camera in the woman’s hands.

  
Adrien’s heart dropped, and tossed the curtain from his hands, stomping off toward his carpet square. Stupid dad, he never came to anything!

  
“Kitty?” Marinette called. Adrien looked up to see the girl standing over him. The girl stood over him with a white dress and green over-top as well as a blue sash around her waist. Adrien couldn’t help but think she looked pretty, but the confused and sad look on her face reminded him why she was there, which drew his attention away and to the floor. Marinette sat down beside him and pushed up her sleeves, “What’s wrong, Adrien?” she asked.

  
“My dad’s not even here…” he mumbled, burying his face in his knees. “He sent Nathalie and the Gorilla…” He started to sniffle, emotions bubbling up inside.

  
Marinette peaked out the curtain, immediately spotting the large man that was Adrien’s bodyguard, and beside him a very pointy business lady sat with a camera in her lap. In front of them sat both of Marinette’s parents, who looked already so proud.

  
Tom held a camera just as Nathalie did, but it was still different. For him, it was to relive the play later. For Nathalie, it was to show Adrien’s father and mother later. Marinette turned red with this information; she turned to console Adrien, only to find the boy was crying.

  
“Adrien,” Marinette called, pulling the boy into a hug. He let out a choked sob, clinging to Marinette’s shoulders as he cried. Then, determinedly, Marinette pushed him back (not without some whines from Adrien). “Poo on your daddy!” she exclaimed suddenly, which caught him and those in the vicinity by surprise. “He’s not your daddy no more! Mine is, and he’s already here!”

  
“But…that’s your papa?” Adrien was confused. What was the girl saying?

  
“Not anymore, now he’s mine and yours!” Marinette said sternly, nodding to confirm what she was saying. “We have a play to do!” she said, not adding anything more to the subject. She got to her feet and held out a hand for Adrien, who took it as he wiped at his wet face. “No more tears, Papa and my mama are watching!”

  
He nodded, for some reason comforted by this ‘new papa’ situation.

  
~~*~~  
At the end of the play, all the children lined up on the stage and took each other’s hands for their bow. Marinette and Adrien were center-stage, and the little girl couldn’t have been happier. She’d placed a pink flower behind Adrien’s ear when he’d tried to do the same to her, so now when she looked at him she couldn’t help but giggle.

  
She couldn’t believe he’d played out the entire last scene with a flower tucked behind his ear, but he had. Marinette could have sworn she’d heard her parents and some others laughing at that, but they didn’t understand.

  
After the bow, all the children scattered either backstage or down the stairs to find their parents. Marinette never let go of Adrien’s hand, nor of Alya’s, and took off running down the steps. They reached her parents quickly, and the girl finally let go of her friends’ hands. “We did good!” she squealed as her father lifted her up.

  
“Yes, you did!” Tom said with a laugh, tossing the girl in the air. “I knew there was a reason we let you watch that movie so much!”

  
Marinette giggled and squirmed to be put on her feet. She turned to Adrien, seeing the boy turn sheepish under Sabine’s gaze. So, Marinette took Adrien’s hand and lifted it into the air. “Adrien did great, didn’t he?” she exclaimed.

  
The two parents brightened, and Tom let out a loud laugh. “The boy did fantastic!” he said. Adrien perked up, looking at the man in surprise. “You’ve got quite a set of lungs, son.”

  
Son? Adrien was confused yet again. Why had Marinette’s papa just called him that? Unless he’d seriously adopted him! That wouldn’t work out well for Adrien and Marinette’s marriage…

  
He flustered under the compliment, taking his hand away from Marinette. “Thank you, sir,” he mumbled, twisting at the waist.

  
“Oh, you all were just so adorable!” Sabine cooed. Marinette beamed, looking at her friends and expecting the same kind of reaction.

  
“Duh, we’re adorable!” Alya giggled. “We’re five!”

  
Adrien couldn’t help but wonder what their age had to do with anything, but he supposed they were adorable, five or otherwise. He looked around for Nathalie and the Gorilla, who stood by the exit patiently waiting for the boy to find them. But, he didn’t want to go! He wanted to stay with Marinette’s family, who apparently wanted to adopt him.

  
“Why don’t we take you all out for dinner since you did such a good job!” Tom suggested. “That is, if it’s OK with your folks!” Alya immediately said it would be alright, so the adults turned to face Adrien, who didn’t quite know what to do under their gazes.

  
“U-um!” he squeaked. “I – um,” Adrien turned again to look at Nathalie, the stoic expression on her face sealing his decision. “I can go!” He took Marinette’s hand and beamed at her, then smiled up at her parents. He liked this family better! Now, if they could only find Nino…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like Gabriel Agreste.
> 
> Also, holy crap there are 20 chapters of this. It wasn't supposed to be more than a one-shot...what HAPPENED?


	21. Adrien loses a Tooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With summer upon them, Adrien has just gotten back from a trip, only to discover Marinette has lost TWO teeth! Which makes him wonder...do all teeth come out? And who's this Tooth Mouse guy?

There were things Adrien expected out of his best friend after school let out for the summer, certain qualities he knew would change. Perhaps Marinette would be taller? Or she would have more freckles? Her hair could get longer! She might even cut it really short!

  
What he _didn’t_ expect when he saw Marinette in July was for both of her front teeth to be missing.

  
_WHAT_?!

  
“Marinette, what happened?!” Adrien screeched when he saw the girl. He’d come over to spend the night with Marinette after coming back from England, where he’d been for three weeks. “Did somebody punch you?! Did you punch ‘em back?!” he frantically questioned, now trying to figure out how he could permanently stay by Marinette’s side, just so he could do his knightly duty of protecting her.

  
But, the little girl just giggled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, Kitty!” she said as she waved off his concern.

  
“Don’t worry?” Adrien repeated, “You’re teeths are _gone_!”

  
“They was loose so Papa pulled them out!” Marinette explained. Adrien paled at her explanation, however. Her father _purposefully_ pulled her teeth out?! And she _let_ him?! Wasn’t that child abuse?!

  
Marinette seemed to pick up on this concern, as she tried to comfort the boy again. “Baby teeth are supposed to come out!” she started. “Then you get adult teeths in their place, see?” she tilted her head back to show Adrien where a white speck was already poking through the tops of her gums.

  
Adrien stared in wonder and amazement. “It didn’t hurt?” he asked.

  
She shook her head, “Not really. They were already really wobbly, ‘nd Papa was careful.”

  
Adrien nodded and sighed in relief. Though, that did explain something for him. “So, is this tooth ‘posed to come out, too?” he asked, gesturing to one of his bottom-row teeth. It was a canine, his left one, and when he pushed on it, it started coming up and bled a little. At first the bleeding had scared him, but the longer it kept on, the more he was just annoyed by it.

  
Marinette looked at his tooth, then squealed in excitement. “It’s gotta come out!” she announced, grabbing Adrien’s hand and pulling him along toward the bathroom. The little girl made him sit on the toilet as she grabbed a washcloth and dampened it. “Open your mouth ‘nd I’ll yank it out!” she said.

  
Adrien’s eyes widened. Shouldn’t she get her dad to do this?!

  
Nevertheless, Adrien didn’t want to upset his wife. So, he reluctantly opened his mouth and allowed the little girl to wrap the cloth around his loose tooth and pull it from his gums. Once the tooth was out, he again tasted blood in his mouth.

  
Marinette showed him the pink tainted tooth, and watched as Adrien’s eyes widened in fear. _Blood_?!

  
He flung himself toward the mirror and stared in horror at the puddle forming around the hole where his tooth had just sat. “Marinette!” he shouted, whipping around to face her. “It’s bleeding!”

  
“Rinse your mouth out,” Marinette said calmly, as if this wasn’t a life-or-death situation. Adrien took her advice, however, and rinse his mouth under the faucet, watching the pink water drain away.

  
This so wasn’t happening!

  
“What are you two doing in the bathroom?” Sabine asked, knocking on the doorframe. She leaned against it, wondering just what Adrien was doing laying across the counter with the faucet running and his head jammed under it. Yes, she knew he liked to pretend he was a cat, but this was taking it a bit too far.

  
Marinette held out a tooth for her mother. “Whose is this?” the woman asked.

  
“It’s Adrien’s!” Marinette exclaimed. The little boy finally pulled away from the water, his face and bangs thoroughly soaked.

  
“Oh, dear!” Sabine jumped. “We should call your parents, sweetheart…” She picked up Adrien and gestured for Marinette to follow.

  
This just seemed to convince Adrien that they did something wrong. Sabine never he called his parents, so he obviously wasn’t supposed to lose that tooth! So, like any sensible child, he began to cry.

  
“No, no, no, sweetie,” Sabine cooed as she sat him on the counter of the kitchen. “It’s alright, don’t worry,” she said with a chuckle. “We…we just have to make sure your parents tell the Tooth Mouse where to find your tooth tonight!”

  
That caught his attention. “Tooth Mouse?” he asked as he tears lessened.

  
Marinette crawled up beside Adrien and leaned her head against his shoulder. “The Tooth Mouse comes in the middle of the night and leaves you either money or sweets in exchange for your tooth,” she explained.

  
Well, that changed everything. He might get candy, or a cookie or something…just from losing a tooth? Where’s the hammer, he could get the others out right then!

  
After Sabine hung up the phone, she turned to the children with a bright smile. “Your daddy is going to make sure the Tooth Mouse knows you’re staying with us tonight!” she said. “Just make sure you put this under your pillow tonight!”

  
~~*~~  
When Adrien woke up that next morning, he firstly shoved Marinette’s stinky foot out of his face. Then, he quickly turned his attention toward his pillow. He tossed it down the steps that led to Marinette’s loft to reveal a chocolate chip cookie on the sheets.

  
“Awesome!” he shouted. Marinette stirred and pulled herself into a sitting position.

  
“What’d you get, Kitty?” she asked through a yawn.

  
“A cookie!” Adrien giggled. Without any hesitation, he broke the cookie in half and presented part of it to Marinette.

  
“No!” Marinette insisted, shoving it back toward her knight. “You earned it, you eat it!”

  
“But!” Adrien whined. He wanted to share his fortune with his princess! Why did she have to be so…princess-y?! “Just take it, Princess, please!”

  
Marinette sighed, then grumpily accepted the smaller of the two halves. It wasn’t a bad cookie, in fact it tasted exactly like the ones in her parents’ bakery. Hmmm…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was bound to happen eventually. I'm surprised it took this long.
> 
> Also! I might be adding Volpina soon, depending on how the new episode goes! So, if you are watching another dub besides the French one, things might get confusing soon. But, if she's just a villain-of-the-week, there won't be anything to worry about.


	22. Pool Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette have a pool day since the Agreste mansion just had a new pool put in!

Marinette was staying with Adrien for their last full week of summer vacation, absolutely thrilled to be at the huge mansion for an entire night.  The mansion had recently had a pool put in, and Marinette was more than ready to test it out!

“C’mon, Kitty!” Marinette giggled, running out of the bathroom in her pink tankini that she loved oh so much.  Her wings and tiara were discarded, so the spots on her suit had to serve as symbols of her ladybug-ness. 

Adrien was less thrilled to be going swimming.  The pool was a lot bigger and deeper than the kiddie pools he was accustomed to playing in.  So, he wrung the edges of his black swim trunks as he waddled after his princess, nerves preventing any other movements.  They entered the pool room where Gabriel was already out floating.

The sun shone brightly into the room, shining on the water.  Marinette giggled gleefully and made a running start toward the water.

“Wait-!” Adrien tried to shout after her, but the girl had landed in the water before he could fuss.

Marinette’s head popped up from under the water and she spat water in Adrien’s direction.  “C’mon, hop in!” she giggled. 

Adrien stared in amazement down at the girl, who had just _jumped into the deep end without floaties_.  She was able to hold her head above the water without any difficulty, as if that was one of the most terrifying things Adrien had ever seen someone so small do.  However, he was neither that brave nor that stupid, so he went and fetched a pair of arm floaties before he _climbed down the latter like a normal person_.  Once in the water, he slowly doggy-paddled to Marinette’s side.

The girl giggled and shook her head, “Catch me if you can, Kitty!” she giggled, diving under the water.  Adrien’s heart caught in his throat as he watched the pink figure move about under the surface.  She popped up several feet away and squirted water at him again.

“Ah!” Adrien took off after her, paddling his feet as quickly as he could to try and reach his wife.  “Get back here!” he laughed, trailing after her.

“Never!” Marinette snickered.  She dove under the water again, and for a moment, Adrien had lost sight of her. 

“Marinette?” he called.  Adrien spun around in the water, desperately looking for the girl.  Where had she gone?!  He looked up at his father, who was asleep on his floating lounge chair.  How that man could sleep in the water, Adrien would never know.  “Father!” he called, startling the man awake. 

“Yes, Adrien?” Gabriel deadpanned.  He knew that children could be quite dramatic at that age, so whatever was ‘wrong’ with his son must not be that big of a deal.  “What’s the matter?” he asked, deciding to humor the boy.

“I can’t find Mari!” Adrien cried.  He glanced behind himself, half expecting her to be there, snickering away.  Nope. 

“Calm down, she hasn’t left the pool?” Gabriel asked.  Adrien shook his head.

“What if she drowned!” Adrien exclaimed.  She still hadn’t surfaced, and Adrien was getting _very_ worried.  “Or what if a sea monster took her!”

Gabriel chuckled, “Now, I doubt she was taken by a sea monster, Adrien.”  He resigned to his fate, and climbed off the chair, letting his feet hit the bottom of the pool.  He stepped closer to his son, who was frantically looking around for anything that would signal to Marinette’s place. 

Just as Gabriel was about to speak, Adrien went under the water with a yelp.  Well, found Marinette. 

The children both resurfaced, a giggling Marinette unable to contain her laughter and a flushed Adrien looking too relieved to fuss.  “Marinette!” he cried, hugging the girl.  “Where’d you go?!”

“I was just behind you…” she explained.  “Did I scare you?”

“ _Yes_!” Adrien again hugged her, spinning around in the water clumsily. 

“Well, are you two alright, now?” Gabriel asked.  He received nods, so he made to return to his nap.  However, that was cut short when a tiny hand grabbed his own larger one.  He turned to see Marinette grinning up at him, and asked what she was doing.

“Play with us!” she said. 

Now, the way Gabriel saw it was he had two options.  One: play with the kids, never finish his nap, but possibly make a good memory with his only child.  Two: return to his nap, get his much needed rest, and possibly make one of, if not both of, the children cry. 

“…What are we playing?” he asked, glancing at Adrien, who seemed slightly surprised. 

Adrien had been expecting rejection, but he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity.  “Mermaids!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.  “Papa, you’re Triton!” he explained, the biggest grin on his face.  His dad was going to play with them!  _Willingly_!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, everyone's favorite father for once being fatherly.


	23. Magical Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya expresses her love of superheroes; Adrien fully agrees.

“Fiiiiighting evil by the moonlight!”

_Splash!_

“Never running from a real fight!”

_Splash!_

“She is the one named Sailor Moon!”

“Alya,” Marinette giggled, taking her friend’s hand when she finally caught up to her.  “Why’re you singing that?”

Alya continued jumping in the puddles, too happy about the perfect weather to stop.  It had been raining just minutes before, but now the sun was out and everything was dripping wet.  Which made for perfect puddle weather.

“I’m gonna be a superhero one day, so I gotta figure out my theme song!” Alya explained, kicking at the water with her brand new bunny boots. 

Marinette snickered and kicked as well with her ladybug boots.  “But, that’s Sailor Moon’s?  Shouldn’t you make your own?”

“You have to analyze another’s before you make your own!” Alya explained.  “And Sailor Moon’s is the perfectest one, so I gotta make _my_ superhero song like hers!”

The explanation made sense to Marinette.  Alya knew more about superheroes than she did, so Marinette generally took her word for it when the little girl babbled on about the specifics.  “What kind of superhero are you gonna be?” Marinette asked.

“Bunny!” Alya exclaimed without hesitation.  “They’re fast and smart and creative and perfect for a hero!”  The little girl hopped along the sidewalk until she got to Sabine’s side, then took the woman’s hand and grinned up at her with all her teeth (save for the missing ones) showing. 

Sabine giggled at the two girls, looking to her other side as Marinette skipped up and took her other hand.  “So, it will be Ladybug and Cottontail?”  The two little girls nodded, looking to each other happily.  Wouldn’t it be fun to be superheroes together?  “Why don’t you two supergirls go look in here for Adrien’s birthday present?”

“Let’s go, Cottontail!” Marinette said, pointing toward the shop they stopped in front of.

“Onward!” Alya yelled, running forward with her arms outstretched.  She threw open the door and let Marinette in before slamming it shut just so the bell would jangle loudly. 

~~*~~

“…And then it’ll be like _whoosh_!” Alya explained, spinning in a circle with one hand raised.  “Then you cross your arms and puff your chest!”

She was explaining how her magical girl transformation would happen to her friends, who all sat on her bedroom floor staring at her like she’d lost her mind.  Well, Adrien at least seemed interested.

“Then you’d be a superhero?” he asked, leaning forward.

Alya nodded, “But not _just_ a superhero!  I’d be a magical superhero!”  That amazed the little boy, who sat with his mouth open and eyes wide.  “Then I can save people and look really cool!  Save damsels, knights, other superheroes, princesses and prin-“

“You can save princesses?  Better than a knight?”

Alya looked to the blond boy, a smirk on her face.  She nodded and placed her hands on her hips, “Not only can superheroes save them, they get kisses afterwards as a reward!”

Well, that was enough to send Adrien to his feet.  “I wanna be a superhero!” he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.  “I’ll be Chat Noir!  I already got the kitty part down!”

Nino snorted, leaning closer to Marinette, “They’s both taking this superhero thing too serious…” he said, making Marinette giggle.

“But they’re happy, so it’s OK,” Marinette said just before Adrien called for her attention.  He was doing his own magical girl transformation, which made both Marinette and Nino burst out laughing.  “At least, I think it’s OK!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is me disguising my Miraculous Holder Alya headcanons as cute five-year-old antics. Am I clever yet?


	24. Plagg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien find a kitten at the park!

Adrien followed behind Marinette closely as they walked around the park, flitting through the pages of his new book.  He snickered to himself, so Marinette cringed, preparing herself for the inevitable.  “What do you call a piggy who knows karate?” Adrien asked.

“What?” Marinette said through gritted teeth, slashing through leaves on the walking path with a stick she’d picked up.

Through his own laughter, Adrien muttered out “A pork chop” before bursting into laughter.  Marinette sighed, shaking her head.  She could hurt Nathalie for giving him that book; why did she think it was a good idea?  Did she want to see Marinette suffer?  “OK, OK,” Adrien started, turning the page, “Why do cows wear bells?”

Marinette let out a whine, staring up a tree as she thought about the best way of getting up it and away from her husband. 

“Because their horns don’t work!”

“Ughhhh!” Marinette groaned, banging her head against the trunk of the tree.  “That one was the worst!”  Adrien continued snickering at her side, this time for a different reason.  Then, they both heard something.

“ _Mrewww_!”

“What was that?” Marinette’s head popped up, and she took off running toward the sound.

“Wait!” Adrien called, “We’re not ‘posed to get separated!”  The two went around all the bushes around them until Marinette finally found something.  “It’s a kitten?”

Marinette reached into the bush and untangled the little kitten from the branches and thorns it was stuck in.  Once freed, the cat jumped into her arms and latched on around her neck.  “Oh!  Kitty, you alright?”

It was a solid black cat, with vibrant green eyes.  And it seemed adamant about staying with Marinette.  “Are you hurt?” she asked, scratching the animal’s head. 

Adrien made a scan over the kitten for injuries, but was glad to say there was nothing but a few thorn boo-boos.  “I think he just likes you, Princess.”

Marinette smiled at that, adjusting the cat so it couldn’t pick at her wings.  “Well, then we’ll keep you!” she said with a nod.  “I think we should name you Luna!” she said with a giggle, bouncing the kitten on her hip.

“Nuh-uh!” Adrien whined, “It’s gotta be cooler than that!  Luna’s annoying!”  He stomped a foot in protest, which caught the kitten’s attention and made it leap to him.  Adrien just barely caught the cat, which crawled up him and rested on his shoulders. 

“Then what do _you_ suggest we call it, Knight?” Marinette asked, hands on her hips and cheeks puffed.

“Hmm…” Adrien looked at the kitten, who just meowed at him and nudged his face.  “Plagg.  It’s definitely a Plagg.”

“What?”  Marinette questioned.  “That’s not even a name!”

“Maybe not in Iceland, but here it’s a _good_ name.”  Adrien said proudly, twisting at the hips.  Plagg just meowed in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess the reference at the end?


	25. Tikki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette frees a ladybug and gives it a name

“What are you doing, Princess?” Adrien asked as he came up to the little girl’s side.  He bent down to look at her, wrinkling his brow in confusion.  Marinette was stooped over a spider web with a stick. 

“I’m freeing this ladybug…” Marinette whispered.  She moved to expose the beetle, who was squirming and wriggling in the web.  “She got stuck ‘nd I had to scare away the big, mean spider…”  Marinette removed the web with the stick and carefully settled the bug on her index finger, holding it up to Adrien’s face.  “Isn’t she cute?” Marinette asked, voice now at normal volume.

Adrien nodded, a grin on his face.  “Wonderful princess, saving your subject like that!”  Marinette giggled and got to her feet, resting the bug on the end of one of her twintails.  “What’s her name?” Adrien asked, picking up the kitten at his feet.

“Hmmm…” Marinette rubbed her chin thoughtfully, “Tikki!” she decided, nodding gently so as not to scare Tikki away.  “Tikki and Plagg!” she said with a snicker.

Adrien held out Plagg to Marinette’s hair, allowing the kitten to meet the beetle.  Plagg swatted at it, so Adrien had to pull back the kitten, resting it on his shoulders.  “Are you gonna keep her?” he asked.

Marinette nodded, “I have a ladybug farm at my house, ‘nd she can be the queen of the farm!”

Adrien knew that Tikki would be the absolute happiest ladybug ever!  Obviously any ladybug that Marinette took care of would live in the lap of luxury!

“She’ll live off’a cookies!” Marinette giggled, “Like me!”

Ah, so she’d be just as sweet of a ladybug as Marinette! Wait -

“But, ladybugs eat tinier bugs?” Adrien questioned.

“Not Tikki!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the Tikki version!


	26. Lila the Fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the first grade class, a new student appears and tries to take Adrien from Marinette! Can they be friends? Or are they doomed to be enemies?

Ah, first grade.  Finally, adulthood.

Marinette skipped down the hallway, her new pink polka dot skirt bouncing with each step.  She couldn’t wait to see Alya again!  And Nino!  It had been at least three weeks since she’d seen her friends, and she was dying to see them again!

As she made it to the new classroom, she pushed open the door with a bright smile on her face.  “Hi, everybody!” she shouted, jumping in her light-up sneakers.

A few heads turned toward the voice, three offering waves of hello.  That’s weird.  What had all of her friends’ attentions?  Marinette walked over to Alya and poked her friend’s shoulder.

“What’s goin’ on?” the little girl asked.

Alya turned to her best friend and smiled brightly.  “There’s a new girl!” she explained.  “She’s a real fox ‘nd she’s a magician!  It’s really cool!”

That intrigued Marinette.  She looked on to the crowd of small children and spotted an unfamiliar face.  This new girl wore dark overalls with an orange jacket.  Her white-and-brown striped leggings were mostly hidden under her leather boots, and a fuzzy orange tail hung from a belt loop on her overalls.  In her brown hair sat a pair of little fox ears which flopped back and forth with each turn of the girl’s head.

“Wow…” Marinette whispered under her breath, eyes wide.  “She’s so pretty!”

Alya nodded, “And she’s from Italy, which is so cool!”

Italy?  Like, spaghetti?  Marinette needed to be friends with this girl!  Maybe she could bring in real Italian food!  Yummy!

“Hi, everybody!” a new voice chimed in.  Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Chloe perked up, recognizing the voice as Adrien’s. 

“Ooh, Adri!” Chloe squealed, jumping up and running after him.  “I missed you!”

Adrien froze up when Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck, unsure of what exactly it was he was supposed to do.  He eventually hugged her back, giving an awkward pat on her back.  “Good to see you, I guess…”

Adrien wiggled his way out of Chloe’s grip and stumbled over to the crowd of kids, peaking over them curiously to see what had their attentions.  He spotted the new girl, who just smiled at him and waved.

She hopped down from the desk she was sat on and skipped closer, grabbing Adrien’s hand.  “ _Ciao_ ,” she giggled in greeting.  Her long hair bounced as she hopped in place, making her boots clack against the hardwood floor.  “ _Il mio nome è_ Lila.”

“Um…” Adrien looked out to his classmates, who all looked just as confused as him.  What did she just say?  “C-can you say that again?  In French, please?”

She seemed startled by this.  Everyone had been impressed with her Italian just moments before.  Why did this (very cute) boy not like it?  “My name is Lila.  E tu?”

“Oh,” Adrien said dumbly.  “My name’s Adrien…”

She giggled again, then started to drag him toward her claimed desk.  “That’s a pretty name!”

“Yeah, I guess,” Adrien shrugged.  What was he supposed to do?  What was this girl doing?  Why did she have a fox tail?  He had so many questions!

“In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a fox.  It’s a ancient, secret ability to change my looks to blend in with all the other kids,” Lila explained.  “My papa taught me how to use the powers so I could go to school.”

“That’s cool, I guess.”  Adrien didn’t know what to think.  She was an actual fox?  Why would she want to go to school when she could be a fox all the time?!  You would have to be very lonely to want that.  “I’m a kitty knight,” he decided to confess.  “But, I haven’t said hello to my princess yet today…”

“Princess?” Lila questioned.  “There’s a princess here?”

Adrien nodded, a grin taking over his face.  “She’s the princess of the ladybugs and she’s awesome!” 

Meanwhile, as the two continued to talk, Marinette sent glares over their way.  How dare that new pretty girl come in and not even allow her husband to say _hello_.  That was rude.  Fox or not, she shouldn’t be mean!

Just as Marinette was about to get up and confront the new girl about stealing her knight, however, the teacher came in.  “Good morning, students.  I’ll be your teacher this year; my name is Madame Mendeleiev.”

All the kids scrambled to seats.  Adrien hopped down from Lila’s desk and ran to Nino, plopping down beside the other boy.  “Hey, Nino,” he greeted with a bright smile. 

~~*~~

It was recess and Adrien had still yet to say hello to Marinette.  Every time he made to go talk to her, Lila or Chloe came over and stole him.  Honestly, he was getting tired of it. 

“Push me, _Gattino_!” Lila giggled when she flopped onto a swing.  Adrien groaned and pulled himself over to the new girl.  He pulled back on the chains and tossed her forward, looking around for his wife. 

Marinette sat with Alya on top of the monkey bars, arms crossed.  Adrien _still_ hadn’t said hi to her and the day was almost over! 

“C’mon, Mari, don’t be so pouty,” Alya giggled, poking Marinette’s cheek.  Marinette huffed and turned to dangle upside-down on the bars.  “It’s not his fault he can’t get away!”

“Yes it is,” Marinette grumbled.  “He could tell her she’s icky and to go away…”

“Does that sound like Adrien?”

No, no it didn’t.  That didn’t mean Marinette would count it out as an option.  She missed her kitty, even if she’d just seen him three days before.  That didn’t matter!  He was _her_ kitty knight, not Lila’s _gattino_.  Whatever that was.

“I’m gonna go stop her!” Marinette growled, tossing herself down.  Alya didn’t make to stop her, too content with sunbathing to care.  Marinette stomped over to Adrien and Lila, who both paused with the swing when she appeared. 

“Hey, Princess,” Adrien greeted sheepishly.  His guilt had crept up, and now a blush covered his face.

Marinette stomped closer and grabbed his arm, dragging him away from Lila and the swings.  “Let’s go, Kitty.  I have plans for our new kingdom!  The ladybugs need us!”

“No fair!” Lila whined from behind.  “He’s _my_ friend, too!”

Marinette whipped around and shot a glare Lila’s way.  “Well, he’s _my_ husband!  We got married last year!”  She stuck out her tongue and continued to drag Adrien away.  However, Lila quickly caught up with them.  She let out an unholy screech and tackled Marinette to the ground, making them both roll.  “Hey!” Marinette yelped, immediately turning herself around so she wasn’t on her belly.

“You’re a meanie!” Lila cried, grabbing Marinette’s twintails and yanking them.  “You shouldn’t be so mean to a fox!” she yelled, clawing at Marinette’s arms.

“You stole my best friend!” Marinette countered, flipping them over.  She took hold of the hair at Lila’s shoulders and tugged it until the Italian girl was sitting up.  “I’m not the meanie, you are!”

“Girls, girls, girls!” Mme. Mendeleiev shouted, running over to them.  She picked up Marinette, who kicked and swatted downward in hopes of knocking out Lila.  Lila stuck out her tongue, though was caught off guard when the teacher grabbed her wrist.  With one girl tucked under her elbow and one dragging behind her, Mme. Mendeleiev took the girls inside, all the class staring in disbelief.

~~*~~

Marinette and Lila sat in the nurse’s office together on a cot, neither looking to the other.  Marinette stared at the lime green bandage wrapped around her knee, feeling tears sting the corners of her eyes.  Her legs were covered in bruises, and her arms had scrapes and cuts from Lila’s nails.  Not to mention, her ladybug wings were bent! 

Lila wasn’t in much better shape.  She held an icepack to her swollen, bruised chin.  Her fox ears had fallen off in the fight, and she had no idea if she would be allowed to go get them.  She couldn’t even swing her legs, they hurt too bad! 

Marinette heard a sniffle to her side, and she finally tore her gaze from the supply cabinet, looking at the little girl beside her.  Lila wiped at her nose and sniffled again, holding her stomach.

“I’m sorry,” Marinette whispered.

Lila turned to face her, a scowl on her face.  “For what?”

“For punching you…and biting you…and pulling your hair…” Marinette hung her head, letting her right leg swing slightly. 

“…I started it,” Lila mumbled, shifting her ice.  “I tackled you first.”

“You were just trying to play with Adrien, and I got mad, though…” Marinette said.  She understood why the girl wanted to play with Adrien.  He was nice, saw the good in everyone, and the word ‘no’ just didn’t exist in his vocabulary.  Marinette met Lila’s eyes, then her hair, and that’s when she noticed something.  “You’re not really a real fox, are you?”

Lila sighed and shook her head.  “You’re not really the princess of the ladybugs, are you?”

“I don’t think ladybugs know what princesses are,” Marinette giggled.  The two girls laughed as well as they could, resting their foreheads together. 

Then, they heard someone clear their throat.  Both girls looked to the doorway where Adrien stood, smiling gently.  “Teacher told me to come makes sure you guys didn’t kill each other,” he explained. 

“It’s all better, my knight,” Marinette reassured.  He eyed the bandages on both girls, and shot Marinette a questioning look.  Marinette rolled her eyes and sighed, “It’s _fine_ , Adrien.  Promise.”

He nodded and stepped in, then pulled out a pair of fox ears from behind his back.  “These fell off’a you, Lila,” he said, holding them out for the girl.  She took them and fixed them back in her hair, slightly more comfortable with the accessory.  “How did your ears fall off if you a fox?”

Lila’s eyes widened, “Um, well –“

“Her magic messed up a little when she got angry.  So, body parts started falling off!” Marinette explained, using dramatic gestures.  “You should’ve seen us putting her arms back on her!” 

Adrien’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head.  “That’s so cool!” he shouted.  Lila nodded, going with Marinette’s story.  She shot the girl a thankful look, and Marinette just smiled back.

Marinette stuck out her leg for the boy, asking him to kiss her bandage.  “It hurts a lot,” she pouted.  Adrien complied, pressing a kiss to Marinette’s knee. 

“…What ‘bout my chin?  It hurts more, _gattino_!” Lila practically begged, sticking out her face.  Adrien shrugged and complied, seeing no harm in helping a magical fox feel better.  Their boo-boos hurt, too.

Lila giggled, then turned to Marinette, who had her arms crossed.  “Don’t be a homewrecker, Lila,” she grumbled, hopping down from the cot.  She took Adrien’s hand and hobbled out the door, leaving a poor, confused Lila to wonder what the word _homewrecker_ meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fox daughter!  
> Also, apologies if you are not caught up with the series, but I love Lila and it was time. And if we're honest tumblr has probably spoiled Volpina for you anyway!


	27. Plastic Turtles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fu substitutes one day, and has an interesting system for keeping students in line.

The bell rang for class and all children scrambled for their seats.  Marinette took a seat beside Alya while Adrien and Nino sat in the front.  Everyone else filed into their seats, Lila beside Nathanaël.  They all expected Mme. Mendeleiev to walk in and greet them, but when several minutes passed without a teacher, they started to worry.

Rose got up and ran to the door, pulling it open and peering down the hallway.  “Where is she?” the little girl asked.

“Maybe a big lizard crawled out the toilet and attacked her!” Max shouted, jumping to his feet.  Suddenly, Rose ran back to her seat and dove for Juleka. 

The door opened to reveal an old man with a burlap sack over his shoulder.  “Hello,” he greeted as he made his way to Mme. Mendeleiev’s desk.  “I am Monsieur Fu, but you can just call me Fu.”  He shuffled around a few papers and peered out at the class of wide-eyed kids.

“Where’s our teacher?” Nino asked, his hand shooting into the air.

Fu turned to the boy, a bright smile on his face.  “She woke up with an upset tummy, so I am your teacher for the day,” he explained.  Then, the old man sat down his bag and pulled out…a plastic turtle?  Fu sat the plastic turtle on Nino’s desk, “Thank you for your concern, though.”

Nino eyed the turtle and looked up at Fu, brow furrowed.  What was this?

“I give out little wise turtles to good students,” Fu explained.  Without any other words, he made his way back to the desk and sifted through the papers again. 

Nino grinned and turned to Alya and Marinette.  Adrien reached for the turtle, but Nino held it away.  “Mine!” Nino whined as Adrien fell against him.  Fu laughed, then made his way around the teacher’s desk.

“Let’s take roll, yes?” he said, picking out a handful of turtles from his bag.  He started calling names and laying turtles by every child as they raised their hand.  By the end, Nino had two while the other students only had one.

Boy, were they envious.

 ~~*~~

It was lunchtime and Marinette had twelve turtles.  Granted, she had to pass out papers, go to the office, help other students, _and_ give up her snack time to get so many.  Adrien had five, and one had a little hat.

How could she get one with a hat?  She wanted one!

Alya had three, but she didn’t really seem to care.  She stuffed the plastic toys in her lunchbox and followed Marinette out the door.  “They’re just turtles, Mari!” Alya fussed, watching her best friend clutch the toys in her arms.

“Nuh- _uh_ ,” Marinette said, “They’re Tommy and Hugo and Louis and Emma and Bridgette and Felix and Becca and Terry and-“

“OK, OK!” Alya laughed.  “How do you tell ‘em apart?”

Marinette gladly showed her the marker scritches on each turtle’s belly and explained who had which mark.  How she kept that straight, Alya would never know.

They continued walking until Marinette, in her fog of turtles, bumped into Lila.  “Oop!” she squeaked, bouncing back away from the girl.  Lila’s bruise had yet to completely heal, so it was still the glaring prominent feature on her face when she turned to face the girls.  She and Marinette had made a point of trying to be friendlier, and Marinette was just glad that Lila hadn’t turned out to be a Chloe 2.0.  “Sorry, Lila!”

“Gotta be more _careful_ , Princess,” Lila snickered.  She had adopted Adrien’s affectionate nickname, though she didn’t use it at quite the same effect.  Marinette ignored that, however, when she noticed something in Lila’s lunchbox.

“You’ve got _two_ hat turtles?!” Marinette exclaimed.  “How?!”

Lila smirked and reached for one of the turtles, holding it out in front of Marinette.  “I was the best helper with snack time!”

Marinette’s blood boiled.  She _skipped_ snack time in favor of being the first one to finish her worksheet.  Had she known she could get such a special turtle for being the most helpful, she would have gladly forgotten all about the worksheet.  “How did Adrien get one?” Marinette asked, stomping her foot.  Lila shrugged and stuffed _Tartaruga_ in her lunchbox.

~~*~~

After lunch, Marinette scrambled back to the classroom to find Adrien and Nino.  “Kitty!” she shouted, flinging herself across the desk to meet his face.  “How did you get a turtle with a hat?” she asked in desperation.

“Uh…” Adrien drew a blank, “I…um…I think I picked up the toys?” he said.

Marinette nodded and ruffled his hair, jumping off the table.  Where was that old man?!  Fu walked in the room, and Marinette swiftly fell into step beside him, a big grin on her face.

“Ah, yes, Little Ladybug?” he questioned.

“Do you need someone to do errands?” Marinette asked.  “I can clean the desks!  Or organize the books!”

Fu chuckled and shook his head.  “I believe everything is fine right now, Little Ladybug, thank you.”  He handed her a 13th regular turtle for the offer, and patted her head before sending her to her desk.  Marinette sulked, dropping her head to the hardwood. 

What could she do to get that turtle with a hat?  She _had_ to get one!

Quickly, Marinette reached into her bag and pulled out some paper and colored pencils (because crayons were for babies and she was obviously an adult!) as she started to draw.  She swung her legs as she worked, ignoring Alya’s, Adrien’s, and Nino’s attempts at talking to her. 

Finally, after half of the afternoon, she was finished!  Marinette hopped up out of her seat, giddy for having finished all of her school work during the morning, and dashed over to Fu.  She tugged on his shirt to get his attention, then held out the drawing.

Curiously, Fu took the paper.  On it was a drawing of himself dressed as a turtle superhero, complete with red mask across his eyes and big green shell on his back.  Beside him was Marinette, dressed as a ladybug with antennae and a red-spotted supersuit.  She wore a red mask as well, though it was spotted, unlike Fu’s.  He smiled at the picture and looked down at the girl, who stared at the ground, twisting her hips nervously.

Fu reached for his sack, which was running low at this point, and dug around for a turtle.  The one he pulled out did _not_ have a hat.

It was better.

The turtle was a bright blue with darker blue on its arms.  Its shell was firetruck red and _striped_ and _so cool_!  Marinette’s eyes widened, and she made a little gasp of excitement. 

“This is a very special turtle,” Fu explained, placing the object in her hands.  “I only give it to one child, and that’s the one that gives something just to make someone happy.”

Marinette nodded, giggling.  “Thank you!”

With that, and a pat on the head, she skipped back to her seat.  “Did you get one with a hat?” Adrien asked.

Marinette shook her head and laid the turtle on her desk.  “Even better!” she squealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I wish I could draw well just so I could put some of these scenes on paper. Like Marinette sliding across the desk.
> 
> Also, I've changed my tumblr url. You can find me at volpinq now!


	28. Quantic Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a normal chapter about our normal princess and her prince.

Five children all sat in a living room, video games’ theme playing in the background on the TV.  The smallest girl, Bridgette, removed her shoes and crawled up on the sofa (not without help from a blond boy).  The tiny ladybug wings on her back glittered in the light, practically captivating her friends.  Her antennae bounced as she began to speak, clearing her throat.

“Ahem!” Bridgette began, gripping the air at the blond boy to hand her the stick she found outside.  “Dear friends, we are gathered here today to knight-“

A baby began to cry loudly in the corner of the room.  She gripped the mesh walls of her playpen and jumped, a piercing wail interrupting everything.

One of the other children, a brunet boy, groaned as he got to his feet.  “Papaaaa!  Mylène is crying!” he called.  “Don’t cry, baby…”

Mylène continued to sob, though she pushed her face against her big brother’s hand when he ran a hand through her curly blonde hair.  The blond boy beside Bridgette grumbled and groaned, shuffling around on his feet impatiently.  “Claude, come _on_ , make her stop crying!” he complained.

The only other girl, Allegra, huffed and rolled her eyes.  “Babies don’t just _stop_ crying, Félix!”

“Allan, hand me her binkie!” Claude yelled to the last child.  Allan grabbed the pacifier and threw it to Claude, who jammed it into the girl’s mouth just as his father came in the room.  “Papa, can she just go somewhere else?"

M. Haprèle laughed and lifted the girl.  “You won’t get used to a sister, will you?” he said, ruffling the boy’s hair.  With that, he took the girl with him.  “Come on, Mylène, maybe you will enjoy my mime act.”

Once they were gone, Félix cleared his throat.  “OK, back to the ceremony!” he said, clapping his hands together.  Claude and Allan both scrambled back to Allegra’s side and sat down.

Bridgette stood tall, her chin jutted out and stick in both hands.  “As I was saying, we are gathered here today to knight our three friends into the ladybug kingdom.  My prince,” she turned to Félix, “you will be giving the names!”

With that, Bridgette shuffled along the sofa to stand in front of Allan.  “Kneel,” she commanded, enjoying her ‘power’ too much.  Allan switched to be on one knee and kept his head down.  Bridgette took her stick lightly to both of his shoulders, “And you shall be Knight-“

“Knight Mercury,” Félix said with a nod. 

Bridgette shuffled to Claude and repeated the process.  “You shall be Knight-“

“Knight Kid Mime.”  That one earned him a bit of a glare, but Félix felt it was appropriate.

Then to Allegra, the process was done once again.  Félix beat Bridgette to speaking, dubbing the blonde girl “Knight Melodie.”

“Very well!  You must all three protect the ladybugs with everything you have!” Bridgette giggled, hopping down from the sofa, giggling to herself as her ladybug antennae bounced. 

Félix nodded and adjusted his kitty ears, “Make the princess proud,” he said, running ahead of the littlest girl to pull out her plastic chair for her.  Bridgette squeaked and plopped down, quickly composing herself to cross her legs and rest her hands in her lap.  Félix stood behind her with his hands behind his back, secretly playing with the kitty tail fastened around his waist.

“Knight Melodie,” Bridgette called, making Allegra jump.  “Would you serenade us?”

Allegra giggled and nodded, reaching for her pink plastic recorder.  The only song she knew how to play was _Itsy Bitsy Spider_ , not that her friends knew that.  So, she played the song as the two boys beside her goofed around.  Claude held out a hand to Allan, who took it and allowed the other boy to spin him as they danced to the music. 

Bridgette giggled and looked back to Félix, who fervently shook his head.  “No dancing.  You don’t need to get hurt, Princess Ladybug.”

“Poo Kitty…” Bridgette pouted, sinking down in her chair. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This lovely idea came from LooFLirpA I hope you enjoyed it.


	29. Painted Nails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Nino get their nails painted!

Adrien and Nino sat on the Dupain-Cheng’s sofa, controllers in hand.  “Watch ouuut!” Nino teased before slamming his cart into Adrien’s.

“No fair!” Adrien whined as Nino took the lead.  The little blond reached over with his foot and shoved Nino, which made him released the controller buttons and let Adrien take his place in 1st again.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Nino fussed.  He hit the pause button and whipped around on the sofa to find Marinette’s mother.  “Mama Marinette, Adrien’s cheating!” he tattled.

The woman looked up and sighed, “Why don’t you two take a break from those games for a little while?” she suggested.

Alya jumped up in her seat beside Marinette, “Yeah, come over here!  We’ll do your nails!”

Adrien wrinkled his nose and shook his head.  “Nuh-uh!  That’s girl stuff, Alya!”

Marinette giggled, “We won’t do them girly, Kitty, promise,” she tried.  Now, that was hard for Adrien to refuse.  His princess wanted to paint his nails…well, as long as she didn’t make them pink! 

Adrien got to his feet and tugged Nino down by the shirt.  “Hey, I don’t want to paint my nails!” Nino whined.  Adrien ignored his friend, instead pulling him to a chair and hauling him up beside himself.  “This is _stupid_ …” Nino pouted.

“Watch your mouth,” Mme. Dupain-Cheng fussed.  Nino apologized while Alya and Marinette laughed.

“Gimme your hand, Nino!” Alya commanded as she ran around to the other side of the table.  Nino slowly stuck out his hand, watching closely for what colors Alya would pull out.  She took out a bright magenta as well as a blue. 

“No pink!” Nino whined. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t do much of it,” Alya said with a snicker.  It seemed Nino didn’t have much of a choice; he was surrounded on all sides.  Alya snatched his hand and took the paint to his nail, ignoring the protests and whines.

Adrien laughed and turned to face Marinette, who was digging around in the basket of polish, her nose twitching as she looked at the colors.  Marinette took out a lime green and a lilac.  She pinned down his hand and took the lilac to his ring fingers, then the green to the other digits.  Marinette was very careful and precise, even using a tissue to clean up the spots she messed up.

It was very much unlike Alya, who just slapped on the polish as quick as possible to make sure Nino didn’t run away.  She could clean it up later!  The whole goal was to get the color _on_ , firstly! 

Mme. Dupain-Cheng couldn’t help but laugh at the scene, utterly amused at how calm Adrien was, and how squirmy Nino was.  It amazed her how different the two experiences were, despite happening side-by-side.

“Alya, this is ugly!” Nino whined as the girl applied the magenta to his ring fingers.  “Take it off!”

“I can fix it, Nino!” Alya yelled, hunching over the boy’s hands so he couldn’t see.  “Just be patient!”

Nino let out a noise of frustration, and Adrien couldn’t help but laugh.  Actually, he hadn’t looked at his own hands in a bit, he might want to look…

Marinette had painted tiny cat heads on the lilac.  _How_ , Adrien wasn’t sure.  All he knew was it looked cool.  It matched her ladybug fingers, which made him giggle.  “That’s real cool, Princess…” he mumbled.

Marinette looked up at him and smiled, “I try, my knight!”

Beside Adrien, Nino bolted off the seat and under the table.  “Nino, get back here I was _almost_ done!”

“You’re not gluing sparkles on my fin’ers!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to practice writing Nino...
> 
> Also, I apologize for the April Fool's chapter! I couldn't help doing something for the day!


	30. Evil Witchies and Earrings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe gets her ears pierced, which just really upsets Marinette. Someone should do something about this awfulness

When Marinette came into class one morning, all her classmates were gathered around Chloe and Sabrina.  Curious, the little girl dashed over to see what trouble the witchies were stirring up. 

“My papa got me these earrings for my birthday, aren’t they prettiest?” Chloe gestured to her ears where a pair of baby blue honey-comb earrings sat.  The other girls cooed and aww-ed at the additions, whispering to each other.  Marinette jumped on her toes to see, desperate to know why everyone was so fascinated by Chloe’s ears.

“Chloe is the first one to get her ears pierced the whole entire class!” Sabrina bragged.  Other girls grabbed at their earlobes, self-conscious about the lack of shiny attachments. 

Marinette finally pushed herself between Alya and Lila to see, still unable to see what the big deal was.  The earrings weren’t even that pretty.  “You look like you got legos on your ears, Chloe,” Marinette said with a giggle. 

“Ex _cuse_ you?” Chloe said with a huff.  She hopped off her desk and leaned down to peer at Marinette, who stood still slightly confused.  “I don’t see your ears pierced, so mine are still _better_.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and looked back toward Alya and Lila, who shrugged.  They didn’t really get it, either. 

“Foxes don’t pierce their ears because it can hurt their magic,” Lila explained, her chin held high.  “Especially funny-looking lego earrings.”

Marinette snickered, glad that her friend had stuck with the lego thing.  Then, a new voice joined the group. 

“How do you even pierce your ears?” Adrien asked.  He’d seen his mom’s earrings, but they looked very sharp and not-kid-friendly.  “Does it hurt?”

Chloe giggled and waved off his concern, “It only hurts if you’re a _baby_ ,” she said as she crossed her arms.  “Obviously, I’m not a baby!  Maybe your _princess_ is, since she don’t got pierced ears!”

Adrien turned to face Marinette, who held her arms crossed and her lower lip jutted out in a pout.  “I’m not a baby, Chloe!” Marinette yelled.  “You’re the baby ‘cause you’re a meanie!”

With that, Marinette grabbed Alya’s hand and pulled the girl over to their desk.  She plopped down and buried her face in her arms, whining to herself about Chloe being a big dummy. 

~~*~~

“Are you sure about this, Mari?” Alya asked her best friend.

Marinette shifted in her seat, staring at the piercing gun.  She sucked in a breath and sat up straight as possible, nodding to Alya.  A lady stood in front of Marinette and cleaned the piercing gun, smiling at Marinette. 

“Are you ready, sweetie?” she asked.  Marinette looked to Alya and reached out a hand, then she looked to her mother and stuck out her other hand.  With either hand held, she nodded and screwed her eyes shut.

~~*~~

Adrien walked in to class that next morning to see a crowd around his wife.  Curious, he squeezed past everyone to see what had caught all their attentions.  “Princess?” he called, looking up just to see a spot of red on Marinette’s ears.  “Marinette!” he yelped, diving for the girl.  He grabbed her face and tilted it down to see her ears; was she bleeding?! 

Marinette giggled and pushed him off of her, “Relax, Kitty,” she said.  “I got my ears pierced yesterday!”

Adrien sighed in relief, then able to see that the red was her earrings…which had little black spots.  “Ladybug spots?”

Marinette nodded, “I had to paint them on myself!  Do you like them?”

“It’s awesome!” Adrien exclaimed, pulling the girl into a hug.  She had cute ladybug earrings with spots on them and she was definitely not bleeding and Chloe could no longer brag about her ears!  It was a great morning!

Chloe made a noise of frustration behind the crowd that had formed.  “That’s not fair!  _I_ did that first!” she yelled, stamping a foot.

“Other people can get their ears pierced, too, Chloe,” Marinette said, a smirk on her face.  She took great joy in watching Chloe stomp over to her desk, pulling Sabrina behind her.  The two plopped down, and Chloe buried her face in her arms to scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun author fact - I don't have my ears pierced. I survived my school's you're-lame-if-don't-get-your-ears-pierced debacle somehow.


	31. Wedding Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette remembers something important to her marriage with Adrien.

Marinette couldn’t believe how silly she’d been.  It had been almost seven months since she and Adrien married, and she had yet to get him his ring!  Poopy!

It couldn’t be just any ring out of a coin machine, either.  Her knight was one of the most important people in Marinette’s life!  So, that’s how Marinette ended up making a ring for her kitty.  The band came from a coin machine, she’d admit it.  But, she painted it black and added clay to the top in the shape of a cat’s paw. 

Giggling to herself, Marinette laid the ring out on her bedside table to dry.  Adrien would be so surprised!

~~*~~

At school the next morning, Adrien noticed that Marinette was acting funny.  “Princess, why’re you smiling like that?” he asked when Mylène ran away giggling up a storm. 

“Good morning, Kitty!” Marinette greeted.  “I’ve got something for you!”

That caught Adrien’s attention.  If his kitty ears worked, they would have been standing straight up.  “What’s it?” he asked, scanning around the little girl.  He lifted up her arms and glanced behind her, then tried to pick her up and look under her seat. 

Marinette laughed and punched at Adrien’s arms to make him set her down.  “Here, here!” she said through her giggles, handing him a little box. 

“What is it?” Adrien asked, turning the box over in his hands.  Something inside slid around and knocked against the sides of the box, which made Adrien snicker. 

“Open it, my knight!” Marinette insisted.

With that, Adrien tossed off the lid.  Inside the little box sat a black ring.  Said black ring had bright green paw pads on the top, and glittered slightly in the light.  “What’s it for?” Adrien asked in confusion.

Marinette took the ring from him and slipped it onto his left ring finger.  “I forgot to get you a weddin’ ring when we got married!” she explained, grinning up at him.

Adrien’s eyes widened and he quickly brought his hand to his chest, squeezing the fist tightly.  He’d been going around this whole time without a wedding ring?!  How long had it even been?!  He couldn’t count that!  No wonder Lila acted so weird, she didn’t even know he was a married man!

“Thank you, Mari!” Adrien squealed, hugging the girl tightly.  He jumped so his feet were in the chair Marinette sat in, so he sat much like an owl.  Marinette nearly fell off her chair, and had it not been for Adrien’s grip she most likely would have fallen.  “It’s awesome!” Adrien giggled.  He held his hand out to admire the ring, oh too giddy to finally have a wedding ring.

Finally, maybe Chloe and Lila would recognize his marriage!

“You’re the bestest wife _ever_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think I'm going to start taking suggestions from you guys! If there's anything you'd like to see, let me know and it might end up in a chapter!


	32. Sleepover at Adrien's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette have a sleepover.

Adrien and Marinette had been laying in Adrien’s bedroom for close to three hours trying to stack all of his legos together.  Apparently, when Marinette had suggested the idea, Adrien hadn’t realized just how many legos he had.  There was close to 20 buckets of them.

Whoops.  Too late now.

Marinette stretched, reaching on her tiptoes, to place the final blue block on the gigantic wall.  “Now how do we get it down?” Adrien asked with a snicker, pulling on his toes until he landed on his bottom.

Marinette stepped back, tapping her chin thoughtfully.  “We don’t.  It stays,” she decided, running for his bed and jumping onto the surface.  “Plaaaggy, c’mere!” she cooed, gripped at the poor kitten that had just been trying to sleep on a pillow.

Adrien ran to join her, giggling to himself when he heard Plagg’s mews of discontent. 

“Plaggy, sit still!” Marinette whined, pinning the animal down.

“I don’t think he likes that, Princess,” Adrien snickered, pulling himself onto the bed.  Just then, Plagg shot off the bed and ran for the staircase, running up before Marinette could follow.

“Poo kitty…” Marinette pouted, crossing her arms.  “At least Tikki and the other ladybugs will play and crawl on us!”

Adrien giggled, quickly thinking of a way to make his princess happy again.  He spun around and laid his head across her lap, attempting to purr as he pressed his head into her hand.  “Pet me!” he cried, nudging his nose against her palm.

Marinette giggled and ran her fingers through his hair.  “You’ll always be the best kitty, my knight!”

A knock on the door pulled both children’s attention away from each other.  Gabriel popped his head inside, glancing around until he spotted the children.  He cleared his throat before speaking, “Dinner is ready if you two want some spaghetti.”

Just like that, Marinette shot off the bed and ran passed Gabriel, not even sure where the kitchen or dining room were.  Adrien laughed and ran after her, knowing she’d get lost without some help.  Why did his wife always abandon him for spaghetti?!

~~*~~

After eating, the two were plopped in a bath together.  Marinette, ever the messier of the two, took longer to get clean.  Not that she refused to be bathed, there just was spaghetti sauce in her hair and somehow on her back.  They were eventually left to the own devices, which is when Adrien found the water gun he’d lost about three weeks prior.

“Oh, Marinette,” he sang, trying to keep his giggles to a minimum.  Marinette looked up from the changing lights dropped in the water, only to be squirted with a stream of water.

“Adrien!” Marinette cried, splashing a wave of water toward the boy.  He laughed loudly and slipped down the side of the tub, so Marinette pulled herself closer to swat at him with a plastic dolphin.  “Bad kitty!” she fussed. 

Adrien rested his arm against the bottom of the tub, then he quickly yanked the arm up to pull water overtop of Marinette.  “Drown the ladybug!” he yelled, flinging himself to the other side of the tub.  “House ain’t on fire no more, you’re _soaked_!” he laughed.

Marinette puffed her cheeks in anger, then leaned back, pulling her feet up.  She crunched herself up as far as possible, then kicked the water at Adrien, effectively knocking him in the chin in the process. 

That’s when, of course, Nathalie walked in.  She stood staring in horror at the small lake forming in the floor and the two children, who had been behaving so well, practically strangling each other in what was left of their bath water. 

As quickly as she could, Nathalie pulled Marinette out and wrapped her up in a towel.  She then pulled Adrien out and wrapped him up as well, dropping several other towels on the floor before she attended to the kids.  Sighing, she dried them and quickly stuck them in their pajamas before they could make another mess.

~~*~~

Giggling as they ran, Marinette and Adrien went back to his bedroom.  They jumped for the bed, which made Plagg bounce into the air.  The cat squalled at the rude awakening, but ultimately gave up leaving. 

Marinette laid down in her nightshirt, which was red with black spots and hung off her shoulder.  Her hair was down, dampening Adrien’s sheets the longer she stayed still.  Adrien laid down across her, his Gameboy in hand.  His black pajama bottoms were covered in green paw prints, and they covered his (slightly embarrassing) nighttime pull-ups.  His gray t-shirt wasn’t anything special, but it was quite damp since he tried to run away while Nathalie was drying and dressing him. 

They just laid, exhausted from their wrestling, until the sounds of Bowser’s Castle lulled them to sleep.  They fell asleep in a little pile with Plagg on Adrien’s back, glad the two rugrats were finally _calm_.

And when they woke up in the morning, it definitely wasn’t from Gabriel taking photos, of course not.  It was his cooing that woke them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel would take pictures. You can't deny it.


	33. Rock And Roll!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class get to interview Jagged Stone!

“Jagged?” Penny called, knocking on the door to the musician’s room.  “Jagged, you have an appointment!”

“Alright, alright!” Jagged Stone grumbled, making his way to the door.  “What’s going on?” he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“The elementary school children are here to speak to you this morning,” Penny explained calmly, trying to make sure Jagged understood what exactly that meant.

The man groaned and shut his door, shouting that he’d be out in a minute.  So, Penny made her way back to the children and their teacher.  “It will be a moment, so everyone, get in a circle for when Mr. Stone gets here, OK?”

All the children plopped down in a rough half-circle.  Marinette sat down with Alya, and Adrien sat on her other side with Nino laying down behind the other three.  Alya looked behind herself at the fake-sleeping boy and snorted, “ _Nino_ ,” she snickered, “Sit up, this is no time for napping!”

Nino grumbled and shifted onto his belly, “It’s _always_ time for napping,” he countered, removing his glasses and slipping them into Marinette’s backpack.

Marinette huffed and turned around, which made Adrien turn as well.  She was bored, just like everyone else.  The stuffy hotel room wasn’t very exciting, and Chloe’s constant chattering didn’t help.  Just because her daddy owned the hotel didn’t mean she needed to point it out every other minute!

Then, she spotted something fun.  Off to the side, on the sofa, laid a crocodile.  _A real crocodile_!  Giggling to herself, Marinette jumped to her feet and took off toward the reptile.

“Princess, where’re you going?!” Adrien hissed, getting up to follow her.  “Marinette!” he fussed when the girl jumped on the crocodile’s back.  “Princess, get off ‘im!  He’ll eat you!”

The crocodile stirred awake at the sudden addition, confusion written across his face.  Marinette giggled and readjusted to sit more comfortably.  “What are you doing in here, Crooky?” she asked, patting the animal’s head.

“Crooky?” a new voice joined, standing right behind Adrien.  The little boy turned, fear present on his features as he hunched.  Jagged Stone.  Adrien might have squeaked.  “I think he prefers Fang, little girl,” Jagged snickered. 

Marinette wrinkled her nose and hopped down, patting Fang on the nose.  “Why do you have a crooci-dile in your room?” she asked, looking up at the singer as she continued to pat poor Fang’s nose.

Adrien gripped her arm and stilled the pats, wincing when Fang blew a breath into his hair.  He didn’t need his princess getting eaten by a crocodile this early in the morning.  By this time, all the other students had gathered around, and were asking the same question as Marinette.

“Crocodiles make excellent pets, for your information,” Jagged explained.  “Isn’t that right, Fang?”  With that, Fang flipped onto his back and let Jagged scratch his belly.  “He’s basically just a scaly puppy!”

“Marinette, Adrien, come join the class if you’d please,” Mme. Mendeleiev said, ushering the children back over. 

Adrien nodded and laced his fingers with Marinette’s, dragging the girl away from the crocodile.  “Aw, you’re no fun, Kitty!” Marinette whined.

“Kitty?” Jagged questioned, laughing as he sat down and let the children crowd him.

Marinette nodded, sitting so she butted against the man, her chin in her hands.  “He’s my kitty knight, and I’m the princess of the ladybugs!” she explained.  “Lila’s a fox, and Nathy is her fox prince,” she continued, pointing to the two children and making Nathanaël blush and hide.  Marinette pulled the man’s jacket to make him lean closer as she whispered behind her hand, “And Chloé and Sabrina are witchies, so be careful…”

That one made Jagged bust out laughing.  He didn’t think he’d enjoy these kids, but this one was pretty funny.  They proceeded with him explaining what it was like to be a singer and answering questions the kids had.  By the end, he was kind of sad to see them leave.  “Well I guess I’ll see you kids later!” he said, waving as they all lined up to leave. 

Then, Marinette jumped and smacked her forehead.  “I almost forgot!” she shouted, turning tail and running back to Jagged.  “This is for you, Mr. Stone!”

She held out a pair of sunglasses shaped like Eiffel Towers where the lenses went.  They were painted like the French flag, and the arms were solid white with a pretty scrawl of _Ladybug_ on the left arm. 

OK.  This girl was incredible.  How was she only six?!

“These are great, Little Ladybug!” he praised, taking the frames from Marinette.  He slipped them on and flashed a grin, which made Marinette giggle.  “How’s Uncle Stone look now?”

“Really cool!  Rock ‘n’ Roll!” she squealed, skipping back to Adrien, Alya, and Nino, who practically combusted in excitement.

And if Jagged wore those glasses for every French show he had, well it wasn’t a reflection of his soft heart.  They were just really cool glasses, and he definitely didn’t care if Little Ladybug saw him wearing them on TV or anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How have I not written a chapter with Jagged Stone before now? I love Jagged; this is an outrage!


	34. Zoo Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class has a field trip to the zoo! Poor Nino has possibly the most eventful day.

“Zoo day!  Zoo day!  Zoo day!” Marinette sang, skipping along the cobblestones that lead to the gate.  She held onto Alya’s and Adrien’s hands, pulling them along as she skipped.  “Zoooo day!  Zoooo day!” she sang louder, tilting her head back. 

“Ow!” Nino whined, “Mari, you kicked me again!”

Marinette paused and turned around to see her other buddy, who held Alya’s and Adrien’s other free hands, forming a diamond out of the friends.  “Sorry, Nino!” the girl apologized, giggling, “Wanna trade places?”

No, Nino did not want to trade and have his heels stepped on if he didn’t go fast enough for the girl.  He just wanted to see the new panther…

Once inside the zoo, Adrien took the lead and pulled his friends along in the opposite direction of Chloé, which just pulled them all off toward the panther exhibit.  The four children stopped when they saw the big cat, Adrien and Nino going wide-eyed. 

“Woah, look at the panther!” Kim’s voice suddenly joined in.  “He’s humongous!”

Max popped up beside him, squinting into the cage, “And he’s really fast!” the boy began.  “He can go 50 miles a hour!”

Kim huffed, crossing his arms, “Well _I_ can go at _least_ 20 billion miles a hour!  Just get me a candy bar first!”

Marinette giggled and shook her head, watching as the zoo keeper entered the cage.  “Ah, don’t get eat!” she cried, jumping at the bars.

The man, Otis by his nametag, looked out at the children and offered a smile, “Don’t worry little lady, my panther loves me, see,” he said as he ran a hand down the cat’s shoulders to pet her.  All six children watched in amazement as the man handled the dangerous animal so calmly. 

Adrien practically buzzed where he stood, hopping up and down in place.  “I bet she’d like me, too!  I’mma kitty just like her!”

Otis snickered and shook his head, “She’s not much on kittens,” he teased as he got to his feet.  Kim snorted, doubling over as he laughed.  Adrien huffed and puffed his cheeks, eyes narrowing.  He took Marinette and Alya’s hands once again, making sure Nino had ahold of Alya’s hand before pulling his friends along toward the giraffes. 

He wasn’t a _kitten_.

~~*~~

At lunchtime, all the children gathered at the picnic shelter near the duck pond.  Adrien pulled himself up beside Marinette, digging around in his giftshop bag for what he truly wanted: his new ears.  He’d found brand new black cat ears (of which had _fuzzy_ insides!) in the store and quickly snatched them up.

Marinette had found new, non-bent ladybug wings, spots on the wings.  It felt good to have new wings that didn’t have wire poking her back constantly. 

Lila and Nathanaël had both found matching fox jackets, complete with ears and tails attached to the jackets themselves.  Lila seemed happier about this development than Nathanaël. 

Even Chloé had found a bright yellow bee-inspired tutu.  Marinette had to admit, the evil witchie did look kind of cute dressed like a bee. 

As they ate, it seemed the ducks decided to get brave.  One popped up over the fence, quacking away as he leaned toward Nino’s brown bag lunch.  “Nuh-uh!  Mine!” Nino fussed, snatching his bag and hiding it under the table.  The duck tried to play a game with him, snapping at the bag continuously as he tried to take the poor boy’s lunch.  Adrien and Alya laughed, but Marinette tried to help as best as she could.

When she took the bag from Nino, intent on distracting the duck, the bird just changed his attention from the bag to Nino himself. 

Which is how a six-year-old ended up being chased by a duck all the way across the zoo, only losing the bird when he ran into the polar bear habitat.  When Nino returned, scowl on his face and cheeks puffed angrily, he plopped down roughly on his seat and put his head down.

“Nino, you OK?” Adrien asked, readying to pat his buddy on the shoulder.

Nino’s head popped up, and he shouted as loud as he could, “Why don’t we have a DUCK kingdom?!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> True story, what happened to Nino happened to me. I still have a scar on my finger from where the duck bit me.


	35. Pigeons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien learns that he is allergic to feathers.

Marinette watched a man on a park bench as he threw bird seed out on the side walk.  Pigeons flocked from all around to him to eat the seed, and some would even step closer to him just to get special treatment.  The longer Marinette watched him, the more she envied his bird-friendships.  So, she got to her feet and dashed over to him.

“Mari, wait!” she heard Adrien call behind.  He hopped to his feet and ran after his wife, stumbling when he reached the man she wanted to meet. 

“Hiya!” Marinette greeted, pulling herself up beside the stranger, “I’m Marinette!”  Adrien hopped up beside her, grabbing her hand just in case they had to run.  “And this is my kitty, Adrien!”

“Nice to meet you,” the man said with a snicker, “My name is Mr. Ramier.  Do you want to feed the pigeons?”

Marinette nodded and dug her hand in the bag of seed, tossing it out just as the man showed her how to.  She caught her breath when she saw the birds flock to her seeds, giggling as they pecked away.  Then she bravely held out the hand not held by her husband, allowing a pigeon to come closer to get the seed right from her hand.

“Be careful, little girl,” Mr. Ramier cautioned, readying to move her if the pigeon tried to hurt her. 

But, the bird just calmly ate straight from her hand.  Adrien giggled and moved a hand to pet the bird, but just as he was about to touch the feathers, he seized up.  “Ah, ah, ahCHOO!” he sneezed with a jump.  Marinette looked at him with wide eyes, watching as the little boy sniffled and groaned. 

Curiously, Marinette led the pigeon slightly closer to the boy’s face, only for him to sneeze loudly once again.  One pigeon flew over their head and dropped a feather on top of his head, which led to a series of kitten-like sneezes that nearly landed poor Adrien on the ground.

“Looks like someone is allergic to feathers!” Mr. Ramier said with a laugh. 

“Poor kitty!” Marinette giggled, hopping down and dragging Adrien away from the birds.  He continued sneezing, moaning with each one as it drained him. 

“I think I’m dying…” he said nasally, sniffling. 

Marinette giggled and kissed the tip of his nose, “Did that help?”

It took a moment of contemplation, and a few well-timed sniffs, for Adrien to decide he needed another kiss.  One just couldn’t fix the amount of death he felt.  So, Marinette once again placed a kiss on his nose, then another on his cheek. 

“All better?”

Blushing in surprise, Adrien gripped the hem of his shirt as he nodded, looking down at his sneakers.  His nose still felt stuffy, but he had something else to worry about.  “Th-thank you, Princess…” he mumbled.  Happily and obliviously, Marinette took his hand once again and dragged her husband off towards the slide, far away from the pigeons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This dork I swear


	36. From Witchie to Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's being weird and Marinette has to get to the bottom of it.

Something was off about Chloe.  Marinette didn’t quite know what, exactly, was wrong with the blonde witchie, but something was weird.  Chloe wore bee wings and a yellow tutu, which bounced with every step she took.  Not only did she _look_ like a princess (and did Sabrina treat her like one), but Chloe was being helpful!  She passed out worksheets for Mme. Mendeleiev and picked up after arts’ n ’crafts _and_ she was nice to Rose!  Chloe was _never_ nice to Rose!

Whatever was wrong with Chloe, Marinette had to figure out.  Maybe she’d been stung by a radioactive bee?  No, no, only Spiderman could be that lucky.  Maybe she was possessed?  No, no, their class couldn’t be that lucky, even with a ladybug princess.  This issue bugged Marinette for the entire day, so at recess she sat on top of the monkey bars beside Adrien just glaring at Chloe. 

“Chloe’s really been _bee-_ having today,” Adrien said, snickering at his own pun.  He didn’t even need his joke book for that one!

Marinette groaned and shoved her kitty, locking her eyes back on her arch nemesis.  Chloe and Sabrina sat by the tree, minding their own business as they doodled in the dirt.  _Strange_.  They almost always stuck by the slide, trying to claim it as their own. 

Was Chloe sick or something?  There had to be an explanation for why she looked and behaved like a princess all of a sudden. 

“ _Comb_ on, Princess!” Adrien whined, “That was a funny one!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and jumped down from the monkey bars, glancing up at her knight.  “C’mon, Kitty, we’ve got a bee to talk to…”  Adrien scrambled down from the bars, sauntering up to Marinette’s side as the girl pulled him along by the shirt.

Once close enough to Chloe and Sabrina, the two little girls looked up.  “Well, if it isn’t _Princess_ Marinette,” Chloe grumbled, crossing her arms.  She rubbed out the dirt drawings with her toes, glaring up at the girl.  “What are you doing here?”

“Why you being so weird?” Marinette asked, deciding to just skip right to the point.

Chloe sputtered and huffed, turning up her nose as she muttered, “I never!” dramatically.

Marinette wrinkled her nose and turned to face Sabrina.  The redheaded girl sucked in a breath and set her shoulders back before answering, “Chloe has been appointed the _queen_ of the bees.”

“Queen?” Marinette repeated.  Chloe smirked, cracking open an eye to peer at the girl. 

“Obviously,” the blonde started, “queens are better than princesses.  Right, Adri?”

All eyes locked on Adrien, who squirmed under the gazes.  On one hand, it was true.  Queens had more power than princess, so they were ultimately better.  On the other hand, his wife hit hard.  And he still had a recovering bruise from the time he used bug puns.  Was he to lie?

“I-it just…depends?” Adrien answered safely, grabbing Marinette’s hand and pulling her away from the other girls.  Once far enough away, Marinette questioned him.  “Witchies’ spell?” Adrien tried. 

Marinette huffed and crossed her arms, stomping past her husband before letting the arms loose to flail.  “It makes no sense!” Marinette began, “She’s no queenie!  She’s just a _meanie_!”

“She _did_ try to help Teacher this morning, though,” Adrien commented, taking his tail in his hands to fidget.  “Maybe Chloe’s changed?”

“ _Changed_?” Marinette made a fake laugh.  “Puh-lease, Kitty.  Witchies don’t just change.”  She put a hand to her chin and paced the grass, trying to come up with an explanation.  “I’ve got it!” Marinette suddenly exclaimed, catching Adrien’s attention.  “They used a illusion spell!”

“What’s that do?” Adrien asked.

“It makes the impossible seem real,” Marinette explained.  “Like what Lila does to look like a girl and not a fox.” 

Adrien made a sound of understanding, nodding.  “Shouldn’t we do something, then, since we’re not under the spell?”

Marinette gasped, eyes going wide.  “Madame Mendeleiev!”  She grabbed Adrien’s hand and started to run toward the teachers.  “Madame!” Marinette called as they reached the woman.

“Yes, yes, what’s wrong?” the woman asked, looking a bit concerned at the troubled look on her students’ faces. 

“Chloe’s got a spell on you that makes her seem real nice!” Marinette explained, “We gotta tell you so the spell will break!”

Well, that’s one way to surprise your teacher.  “A spell?” she repeated, turning to fully look at the two kids in front of her.

Adrien nodded, “She’s pretendin’ she’s a queen and bein’ all nice but it’s a _spell_.”

Well, that gave the woman all the explanation she needed.  “No, no,” she stared, taking the unoccupied hands of either child.  “Chloe isn’t a queen, you’re right there, but she _is_ a princess now, just like Marinette and Lila.  She wants to be a better person, and thought the best way to do that was to become a princess, too.”

Marinette couldn’t believe her.  There was no way someone as _poopy_ as Chloe could turn into a princess!  Nuh-uh!

“In fact,” Mme. Mendeleiev continued, rummaging in her pocket for something.  “She made this for you, Marinette,” she said as handed a folded card to the girl.

Marinette opened the paper, which showed a ladybug with a very tall crown and a bee with a very small crown and a tear falling from its eye.  “Why’s the bee crying?” Marinette asked quietly.

“That’s Chloe,” Mme. Mendeleiev explained, “She feels like you are a lot better than she is and that she’ll never has as many friends as you do.  So she’s sad in the picture.”

Well, jeez, just make Marinette cry!  Adrien jumped when he heard the hiccup, looking at Marinette to see big tears well in her eyes.  “You OK, Princess?” he asked.  Marinette shook her head and shoved the picture in Adrien’s chest, bolting off toward the trees.  She ran all the way to Chloe and fell to her knees, wrapping her arms tightly around the girl.

“I’m sorry you a witchie!” Marinette wailed, sobbing against the blonde’s shoulder.  “You can be a princess, too!”

Needless to say, Chloe didn’t know quite what to do.  All she could do was hug Marinette back, her own tears springing up.  No one cries alone, after all.

“I’ll even share my spaghetti…” Marinette mumbled.

“I don’t like spaghetti, though…” Chloe grumbled.  Well, there just went all of Marinette’s sympathy, right out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta love Chloe.


	37. Baby Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette meet Alya's new baby sister, and Adrien has a revelation.

“Do you want to hold her, Adrien?” 

Adrien’s head shot up to look at Alya’s mother, who held a little baby in her arms.  The woman smiled at him gently, moving the baby to look at him a little better.  Eyes wide, Adrien nodded and let Alya’s mother arrange the baby in his arms.

“Remember to support her head, sweetie.”

It was really weird.  Marinette sat beside Adrien, smiling at him and swinging her legs.  Alya and Nino stood in front of him, grinning from ear-to-ear.  He was the first of the group (aside from Alya, who didn’t count – shush!) to hold the new little baby, so it was a fairly big deal. 

“She’s really squishy…” Adrien whispered, moving an arm to poke the baby in the nose.  She let out a little whine and stretched out an arm, grabbing ahold of Adrien’s shirt collar.  Adrien could feel his heart beat quicken, and his breathing go shallow.  What did he do?!  Did he break the baby?!  Luckily, she let her arm drop and opened her eyes.

The baby grinned a gummy grin and kicked her legs, leaning her head back to look at her mother as she let out a happy little yell. 

“What’s she doing?” Marinette asked, clapping her hands over her ears.

Alya’s mother laughed and took the baby from Adrien, who didn’t quite know whether to cry or laugh, and was on the verge of doing both.  “She’s just happy!”

 _That_ was what a happy baby was like?

OK, it was slightly cool.  Adrien smiled and wiped at his wet eyes, now sure that he didn’t need to cry.  He kind of wanted a baby of his own, since they laughed funny and were really squishy. 

Then, he nodded to himself and hopped down from the sofa he sat on, arms crossed.  “Hugo,” he said simply, confusing everyone around him.

“Hugo?” Alya’s mother questioned, “Adrien, Becca is a girl…” she laughed.

Adrien shook his head, “No, no!  If I ever get a baby, I’mma name him Hugo!”

Marinette giggled and hopped down to stand beside him, “But if it’s a girl?” she asked, taking his hand.  Adrien tapped his chin in thought, eyebrows furrowed.

“I got nothin’,” he admitted, hanging his head.

“What about Emma?” Marinette suggested.

Adrien’s face lit up and he grinned widely at his wife, quickly wrapping her up in a hug.  “Emma!” he shouted, which made the baby give a warning whine.  “Whoops…” he whispered sheepishly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Adrien you big doof.


End file.
